Mark R. Weaver

Partner Mark Weaver is an experienced litigator and legal advisor who has successfully represented thousands of clients. Whether it’s presenting a complex case to a jury or arguing in front of the Ohio Supreme Court, Mark uses creative persuasion, piercing logic, and his understanding of the law to bring about the best possible results for his legal clients.

Prior to entering private practice, Mark was the Deputy Attorney General of Ohio. Serving on the Attorney General’s Executive Staff, he helped manage the work of a legal office with 50,000 cases and 1,400 employees. Working with his colleagues in that office, he helped represent the state in several high profile legal matters including the lawsuit against the tobacco industry, the Microsoft antitrust case, and several death penalty cases.

He has a statewide reputation in media law, public records and open meetings law, and First Amendment practice. Over the last two decades, he taught media law at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. In fact, the Cleveland Plain Dealer called him “the guru of Ohio public records law.”

Mark also regularly practices in government and election law. He’s represented numerous judges, local government officials, and state lawmakers. He’s provided legal and litigation advice to the Ohio Attorney General, the Ohio Secretary of State, the Ohio Auditor of State, and the Ohio Treasurer of State. He’s also taught Election Law at the University of Akron.

Many business leaders hire Mark to assist when complex legal matters become high profile issues in the news media. His knowledge of the ethical issues surrounding what litigants are permitted to say in the press and social media helps his clients win both in the court of law as well as the court of public opinion. He teaches Crisis Communications and Advanced Social Media at the School of Government at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University.

Mark is often asked to act as a Special Prosecutor in criminal cases around the state. In the courtroom presenting to a jury and in courts of appeals defending convictions, Mark has prosecuted murderers, rapists, child molesters, and other violent criminals. To date, Mark has prosecuted crimes in ten Ohio counties, including prosecuting a serial killer whom he helped send to death row. He teaches Criminal Procedure and Constitutional Law to the Ohio Public Safety Leadership Academy and has been a featured speaker to the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.

While Mark has practiced law in Ohio for more than two decades, he previously worked and practiced in both Washington, D.C. and his native state of Pennsylvania.

Mark is the author of the book “A Wordsmith’s Work,” which has been favorably reviewed by the Ohio State Bar Association and others. He and his wife Lori raised two children.

• Delaware Law School at Widener University, J.D., (top 15% of class)
• Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, M.P.A.;
  • Graduate work in Political Science, University of Delaware
• Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, B.S.

Ohio
Pennsylvania
District of Columbia
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
U.S. Supreme Court

A frequent commentator on U.S. Supreme Court nominations and other legal and policy matters, Mark has been interviewed multiple times by every major national media outlet in America, including 60 Minutes, Nightline, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, MSNBC, CNN, FOX News, NPR, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, and Reuters. He has also been interviewed internationally by major news outlets in Canada, Great Britain, France, Japan, Ukraine, and others.

Mark presents to legal, law enforcement, government and industry groups dozens of times a year. His most common speaking engagements are sponsored by the National Fraternal Order of Police, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Jo Ann Davidson Leadership Institute, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University, and the Ohio Public Safety Leadership Academy.

Mark is also a regular panelist on several Ohio news and public affairs TV programs, including “Columbus on the Record, “The State of Ohio,” and “NBC4 The Spectrum.”

Ohio State Bar Association
Columbus Bar Association
Federalist Society
Federal Judicial Selection Panel for U.S. Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown

Current Positions

Acting Judge, Licking County Municipal Court
Felony Level Special Prosecutor, multiple jurisdictions
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Adams County Ohio
Adjunct Professor, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Government
Lecturer, John Glenn College of Public Affairs, The Ohio State University and Instructor, Ohio Public Safety Leadership Academy

Volunteer/Speaker, Hugh O’Brien Youth Foundation
Volunteer financial advisor at local church
Organized fundraising for families of police officers killed in line of duty

Magistrate, Hilliard Mayor’s Court
Magistrate, Granville Mayor’s Court
Deputy Attorney General of Ohio
Adjunct Professor, University of Akron and The Ohio State University College of Law
Distinguished Chairman, Ray C. Bliss School of Applied Politics, University of Akron
Assistant Director of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington D.C.
Vice President and General Counsel of a national communications firm in Washington, D.C area

Named to Columbus CEO Magazine’s “Top Lawyer” List (2014-2020)
“AV Preeminent”- Highest possible rating, Martindale Hubbell legal rating service
Fellowship, Center for Study of the Presidency and Congress
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Student Government Board Outstanding Alumni Award
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Outstanding Alumni Citation
Honorary Certificate in Applied Politics, University of Akron
Excellence in Teaching Award, Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police
“Who’s Who in American Law”