Mark focuses his practice primarily on government, constitutional, labor and employment, and election matters. He has extensive experience before state and federal appellate courts, including the Ohio and United States Supreme Courts.
Mark successfully represented the majority members of the Ohio Apportionment Board in the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the United States Supreme Court in defending the 1991 and 2001 plans of apportionment for the Ohio General Assembly. He also represented the State of Ohio, the Governor, and the Secretary of State in Voting Rights Act litigation challenging the at-large election of Ohio's state trial and appellate judges. He served as a reader for the Ohio Supreme Court's Board of Bar Examiners.
Representative Experience
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Represents a public pension system defending its provision of health care insurance to its retirees.
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Represented the County Coroners Association in an action regarding the disposal of body parts following an autopsy.
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Representing a horse racing track in defending the Racing Commission’s application of state simulcasting statutes.
- Organized and managed multiple statewide referendum campaigns concerning legalization of casino gambling.
- Won dismissal of extraordinary writ action against Cuyahoga County Judges challenging transfer of cases under local commercial docket rules.
- Represented residents opposed to a wind farm in their successful appeal challenging the Power Siting Board’s extension of time for the commencement of construction.
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Represented Cresco Labs, one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States, in obtaining a provisional processing license by the state of Ohio. The License allows Cresco to extract oils and manufacture products from cannabis which provides Cresco the ability to sell its entire House of Brands in Ohio. Benesch represented Cresco throughout the licensing process and assisted Cresco in becoming a vertically integrated operator in the State of Ohio.
- Represented the organized construction trades in their challenge to legislation that prohibits public sector project labor agreements.
- Represented a labor organization in the defense of a defamation action before the Ohio Supreme Court.
- Represented the organized construction trades in the defense of a public sector project agreement against constitutional and statutory challenges.