R. Mark Mifflin

About

Complex civil litigation is one of the areas where Mark excels. He brings extensive experience in all levels of court work (from state administrative agency through the Illinois Supreme Court and federal courts) and a wide range of case circumstances where he has obtained favorable results for his clients. Mark applies a practical approach to handling complex litigation. Our clients report that they are confident in the pace and progress of their cases from start to finish.

Mark is also a registered lobbyist with the State of Illinois and has a proven track record of working with legislators and administrators at all levels of state government.

Follows are some examples of Mark’ work:

Litigation – Mark has obtained favorable results for his clients in a wide variety of civil litigation cases. He successfully defended a major university in a sexual discrimination class action case. In another case, our firm was retained by a statewide judges association to contest a law which negatively impacted judicial pensions. Mark represented the judges in circuit court and in the Illinois Supreme Court and successfully obtained a judgment invalidating the law. Another case successfully handled by Mark involved a general contractor in a construction case. He was successful in winning a counterclaim against a sub-contractor on behalf of the general contractor. Mark also successfully represented trade associations for financial institutions in Illinois in a lawsuit challenging fund sweeps by the Governor and other state officials. Mark also represents several insurance companies and their insureds in a variety of contexts, both personal and commercial. These matters involve issues as diverse as personal injury defense, commercial defense and coverage questions. Mark was appointed by the U.S. District Court judges to serve as the Chairman of the Federal Rules Advisory Committee in the Central District of Illinois.

Administrative Litigation – Mark also pursues matters through the administrative process of state agencies and to circuit court, if necessary.

Mark also serves as a Hearing Officer for administrative hearings before the Illinois State Police Merit Board.

Civil Appeals – Mark has filed an amicus brief on behalf of several insurance trade associations. Mark contributed his unique knowledge of the insurance industry and, specifically, insurance contract construction, and helped to focus the brief on crucial, yet subtle aspects of insurance coverage. In the end, the final ruling of the Court indicated that the Mark and his team were successful in convincing the Court of the point of view of our clients. Mark also pursues and defends appeals of his own circuit court cases in the Appellate Court. These range from slip and fall cases to matters of statutory construction before the Illinois Supreme Court.

Governmental Affairs and Lobbying – Prior to attending law school, Mark served as an Illinois Legislative Staff Intern on the staff of the Illinois Senate. Upon entering private practice, Mark began work with other lawyers in the firm as a lobbyist before the Illinois General Assembly and numerous state administrative agencies. The firm currently represents several large corporations and many national and statewide trade associations. While all of the firm's lobbyists are involved as necessary with all of the firm's clients, Mark's primary responsibility and emphasis has been upon representing insurance interests and several state-regulated interest groups. Mark has been directly responsible for the enactment of laws proposed by his clients and the defeat of legislation and regulations opposed by his clients.

Education:

• Southern Illinois University School of Law, J.D., 1978
  • Magna Cum Laude;
  • Southern Illinois University Law Journal, Articles Editor
• Western Illinois University, B.A., 1973, With Honors

Admissions to Practice:

• Illinois
• U.S. District Court
  • Central District of Illinois
  • Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

Publications:

• “Open vs. Closed Primaries, A Dilemma in the Illinois Election Process,” 1977 So.IL ULJ 210
• “Lobbying, PACs and Campaign Finance, 50 State Handbook” (Co-Author, Illinois Chapter), West Group, 2010

Representative Cases:

• Bristow v. Griffitts Construction Company, 94 Ill.Dec. 506 (IL Appellate Ct. 1986)
• Felt v. Board of Trustees of Judges Retirement Systems, 89 Ill.Dec. 855 (IL Supreme Ct. 1985)
• Country Mutual Insurance Co. v. Livorsi Marine, No. 99807, 2006 WL 1348722, May 18, 2006 (Illinois Supreme Court) (amicus for insurance trade associations)
• BCB Anesthesia Care, Ltd. V. Passavant Memorial Area Hosp. Ass’n, 36 F.3d 664 (7th Cir. 1994)
• Hanifi v. Board of Regents of Regency Universities System, 46 Ill.Ct.Cl. 131 (1994)
• Auto-Owners Insurance Company v. Stubban and Uffer, 371 Ill.App.3d. 513 (4th Dist. 2007)

Previous Professional Experience:

• Illinois General Assembly, Legislative Staff Intern. 1974–1975
• US District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Clerk for Judge J. Waldo Ackerman, 1978–1980
• Illinois Supreme Court, Clerk for Justice Robert C. Underwood, 1978
• United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois, Assistant US Attorney, 1980–1982

Professional Associations:

• Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
  • Member, 1985-Present
  • Member of Board of Directors, 2006-Present
• Sangamon County Bar Association
• Illinois State Bar Association

Civic Participation:

• St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
  • Committee Chairman
  • Past President & Council Member
• Springfield Sports Hall of Fame
  • Member of Board of Directors, 1994-Present
  • President, 2004-2006