Mark Wagoner
Consultant
Areas of Expertise: Legislative and legal affairs, governing boards
Mark Wagoner is a former member of The Ohio Senate and the current Chairman of the Litigation Department of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, an AmLaw 200 firm based in Ohio. In his private law practice, Mark focuses on antitrust matters, particularly government investigations and federal litigation, and serves as outside general counsel to several companies. Mark has successfully tried jury trials in state and federal courts, and argued before various appellate courts. He is admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been included in the last five years in The Best Lawyers in America®, holds an AV® rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and is a Lifetime Member of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Mark has recently been appointed by Senators Portman and Brown to the Bipartisan Commission for Federal Judicial Vacancies making recommendations regarding vacancies in the federal courts of Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio. He is an active member of the ABA Section on Antitrust Law and ABA Forum on Franchising. The Toledo Bar Association has recognized Mark three times with its Pro Bono Award for providing legal services to those unable to afford an attorney.
While serving in The Ohio Senate, Mark sponsored the legislation that formalized the 2006 merger of The University of Toledo and the Medical University of Ohio. His leadership in shepherding the bill through the legislative process resulted unanimous approval in both The Ohio House of Representatives and The Ohio Senate. Not a single Senator or Representative spoke in opposition to the legislation.
Over the last few years, Mark served as one of twenty public members of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission, a once every twenty year commission to recommend updates to Ohio’s Constitution. Mark also serves as Chairman of the Ohio Military Facilities Commission, which is charged with allocating $5 million in annual funding and developing a strategic plan to enhance Ohio’s defense assets, including the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, NASA facilities, and Ohio’s National Guard bases. Previously, Mark was one of six public members of the Grace Commission, formed by the Ohio General Assembly to explore restructuring state government to promote efficiencies and cost savings.
Mark is an elected member of the Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee, and a board member of several nonprofit organizations, including the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, the National Museum of the Great Lakes, the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, and the Ottawa Hills Schools Foundation. The Ohio State Bar Association asked Mark to serve on a select commission to address judicial elections in Ohio.
From 2007 to 2012, Mark served as the State Senator for the Second District. Mark elected not to seek reelection in 2012 to focus on his private law practice. During his time in the Senate, his fellow Senators elected him Majority Whip and he served as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which covered a broad jurisdiction of criminal and civil issues before Ohio’s courts. In addition, Mark served as Vice-Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, as a member of the Senate Rules and Reference Committee, as a member of the State of Ohio Controlling Board, as a Chairman of the Auto Industry Task Force, and as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Video Lottery Terminals in Ohio. Prior to his tenure in The Ohio Senate, Mark served in The Ohio House of Representatives State Representative of the 46th House District, where he was a member of the House Finance Committee, Public Utilities Committee, and Financial Institutions Committee. Mark also served as the legislative Chairman of the Board of the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority, Ohio's 529 college savings plan with over $9 billion in assets, and helped guide the selection for a new executive director, a change in its investment manager, and joint governance with the Ohio Board of Regents.
Mark was the primary sponsor of several major bills in his time in the legislature, including the creation of Ohio’s public-private economic develop agency, JobsOhio, the revisions to Ohio’s motor vehicle dealer laws in light of the 2008 financial crisis, the first ever merger of two major state universities in Ohio history, the renewal of the Clean Ohio Fund, the update of Ohio’s dormant mineral lease law now being used extensively in the development of Ohio’s Marcellus and Utica natural gas fields, the adoption of the Ohio Trust Code, and the revisions to Ohio's partnership laws, among others. He was also a key player in drafting the amendment to the Ohio Constitution to enable passage of the Great Lakes Compact. For his legislative work, Mark received numerous awards, including the Ohio Association of Justice "Legislator of the Year," the Council of State Government Toll Fellowship, the Ohio Nurses Association “Legislator of the Year,” the Ohio Convention and Visitors Bureau’s “Legislator of the Year,” the Vietnam Veterans of Ohio "Legislator of the Year," the Lifeline of Ohio “Legacy Award” for his work on organ donation, and received the “Watchdog of the Treasury” Award three times from the United Conservatives of Ohio. Mark has also been named an Ohio Commodore by the Governor of Ohio and a Kentucky Colonel by the Governor of Kentucky. He was an Ohio Delegate to the 2008 Republican National Conventions, and an Honorary Ohio Delegate to the 2012 and 2016 Conventions.
Mark is a 1994 cum laude graduate of Georgetown University where he was a member of the Hoyas NCAA football team, and 1997 graduate from The Ohio State University College of Law, where he served on the Managing Board of the Ohio State Law Journal and as President of the Student Bar Association. The Ohio State College of Law named Mark its Outstanding Recent Alumni Award in 2006. Mark graduated from Ottawa Hills High School in 1990, where he was awarded the Outstanding Senior Athlete.
Mark is married to Merideth, and they have two children. His spare time is spent with his family.