Experience

Integrity

Fairness
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bar association ratings

Mark is a member of various legal bar associations and has served in many volunteer positions within the legal profession and community:

“Qualified”

“Recommended”

“Qualified”

“Qualified”

“Qualified”

“Recommended”

“Recommended”

“Recommended”

“Recommended”

accomplishments

the experience

Mark’s career in law spans decades in multiple roles within the justice system, and the accumulated experience, knowledge and ability Mark has earned through each of those roles makes him ideal for the judiciary. This includes significant courtroom experience litigating numerous contested hearings and trials in various courts and administrative tribunals within the state of Illinois. Mark has also applied his legal knowledge, experience and skills directly to the public as both a police oversight professional and law enforcement officer, giving him a well-rounded perspective of the legal system that is unique and unparalleled.

15+ Years

Working in Criminal Justice

100+ Trials

Tried in the state of Illinois

20+ Years

Serving the Community

10+ Years

Teaching and Instructing

about mark

the integrity

Mark is a Filipino immigrant and naturalized citizen, who grew up on the northside of Chicago in the Lincoln Square neighborhood. Mark attended Loyola Academy, UIC and The John Marshall Law School. Mark’s professional career includes many facets of the legal system, including Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney, Criminal Defense Counsel, General Practice, Administrative Law, Civil Litigation, police oversight and law enforcement. Mark has been active and engaged in numerous legal bar associations and community-based non-profit organizations.

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endorsed by

2026 Circuit Court Alternate Candidate

endorsed by

community work

His tireless dedication to community and public service across diverse demographics shows Mark’s commitment to fairness and equality.

Additionally, Mark is a member of various legal bar associations and has served in many volunteer positions within the legal profession and community.

Mark has proven his respect for the human dignity of everyone in our society and he will surely continue to do so as a Cook County Circuit Court Judge.

Bar Associations

Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago

Current Vice-President, Inaugural President

Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago

National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association

Founding Member/Inaugural Chicago Chapter President

Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago

Former Board of Directors

Chicago Bar Association

Judicial Evaluation Committee, Criminal Law Committee, Wills-For-Heroes

Cook County Bar Association

LGBTQ Committee

Northwest Suburban Bar Association

Former Criminal Law Committee Chair

American Bar Association

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

National Filipino American Lawyers Association

Queen of Apostles Parish

Lector, St. Vincent DePaul Meal Server

Asian American Law Enforcement Association

City Church Chicago

Security Team Leader

100Club of Illinois

Fraternal Order of Police

Illinois Troopers Lodge #41

Asian American Action Fund of Chicago

Former Board Member

Illinois Secretary of State Asian American Advisory Council

Former Member

Asian Americans Advancing Justice|Chicago

Former Board Member

Children’s Memorial Hospital Volunteer

Lurie’s Children’s Hospital

Make-A-Wish Foundation Volunteer

Wish Granter

Inspiration Café Volunteer

Homeless Center

in the community

the fairness

Mark currently works as a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney, prosecuting various felony criminal cases. Throughout his career, Mark’s legal practice has included private criminal defense, public health administration, civil litigation, police oversight and law enforcement. This means that Mark has a wide breadth of experience to draw from and will be fair and balanced when interpreting and applying the law to everyone who appears before him.

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about mark

Mark is a Filipino immigrant and naturalized citizen, who grew up on the northside of Chicago in the Lincoln Square neighborhood. Mark attended Loyola Academy, UIC and The John Marshall Law School. Mark’s professional career includes many facets of the legal system, including Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney, Criminal Defense Counsel, General Practice, Administrative Law, Civil Litigation, police oversight and law enforcement. Mark has been active and engaged in numerous legal bar associations and community-based non-profit organizations.

Mark began practicing law in 2005, as a Supreme Court Rule 711 law student, working at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office as a law clerk. In May of 2007, Mark swore in as an Assistant State’s Attorney (ASA) and during his time as a prosecutor brought over one hundred criminal and traffic cases to trial for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office – nineteen of those trials were brought before a jury.  Additionally, Mark handled felony cases daily at the bond court, grand jury and preliminary hearing stages.

As Associate General Counsel for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Mark brought numerous administrative prosecutions to hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. Mark developed knowledge, skill and experience in the practice of administrative law, specifically handling prosecutions of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act against private nursing homes represented by law firms. In addition, IDPH administered nearly two hundred public health programs, to which Mark was responsible for providing legal counsel when needed. Mark also learned the process and procedures for administrative rule making with the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules (JCAR), the legal relationship between executive branch agencies and the Attorney General’s Office and technical aspects of the nursing care profession.

As a solo-practitioner, and owner of his own law office, Mark became knowledgeable in multiple areas of law, providing legal services to a wide range of clients, consisting primarily of people of moderate to low-income households, ensuring they had access to quality legal representation. Mark’s primary practice area was criminal defense and defended three cases before a jury, bringing his total number of jury trials to twenty-two. Mark’s clients were charged with a range of offenses from traffic citations, DUIs, weapons offenses, sexual assaults, to attempted murder. Mark also handled collateral matters to criminal cases, particularly DCFS investigations. His experience in administrative law aided Mark in defending clients accused of abuse and/or neglect of children and representing them at hearings before DCFS Administrative Law Judges. Additionally, Mark represented a juvenile client before a Chicago Public Schools hearing officer in an expulsion matter. Mark’s litigation experience extends to the U.S. Immigration Courts system as well; he provided pro bono legal representation to a Cambodian national facing removal. Mark brought the case to litigation before an Immigration Judge and successfully asserted the Geneva Convention Against Torture to secure a favorable ruling on behalf of the client. Mark has also represented clients in court for domestic relations, small claims and probate matters. Mark’s litigation practice includes the following counties: Will, DuPage, Kane, McHenry and Lake and have appeared in the following Cook County courthouses: Branch 23, Branch 35, Branch 43, Domestic Violence, Leighton Criminal Courthouse, Daley Center, Markham, Bridgeview, Skokie, and Rolling Meadows.

While an Associate Attorney at Patton & Ryan LLC, Mark handled a variety of civil litigation cases. The law firm represented insurance companies in high value cases which were unable to be resolved through negotiated settlement and trials were imminent. The practice areas Mark was assigned included personal injury and wrongful death, medical malpractice, premises liability, construction defect, product liability and manufacturing defect.

In 2017, Mark joined the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) as a Supervising Investigator and was assigned to supervise an investigative team handling officer involved shootings (OIS) and officer involved death (OID) cases. This high profile and complex assignment was based largely on his prior legal experience and work ethic. In addition to his functions related to OIS/OID investigations, Mark regularly consulted on cases of Fourth Amendment violations and other use of force cases. While at COPA, Mark was able to develop a deeper and broader scope of knowledge and understanding of police encounters with the public. Through direct contact with officers, victims, witnesses, families and lawyers involved in police accountability, Mark learned valuable lessons about the justice system and gained new perspectives about the experiences of all parties. As a supervisor of over five investigative professionals, Mark developed managerial and leadership skills well-suited for the courtroom.

In 2019, Mark became a sworn law enforcement officer with the Illinois State Police (ISP). One of the reasons Mark chose to work in law enforcement was to bring his legal knowledge and expertise to the role of police officer. Mark used the knowledge, skill and talents he developed in his prior legal experiences to serve the public in the most competent, prompt and diligent manner possible. Mark ensured that his conduct conformed to the requirements of the law and demonstrated respect for the legal system. His service as a law enforcement officer went beyond writing tickets, investigating crimes, making arrests and testifying in court. Mark regularly taught legal blocks of instruction to ISP cadets and external agency police recruits at the ISP Academy in Springfield, IL. Mark was selected by the United States Department of State for a diplomatic mission to teach Gender-Based and Domestic Violence, and Human Trafficking Investigations to police, prosecutors and judges in Accra, Ghana. Mark was vetted and granted top secret clearance by the FBI to join a Law Enforcement Anti-Corruption Task Force. Mark sat on the ISP Use of Force Incident Review Committee to determine the appropriateness of ISP Trooper conduct. The training and experience Mark received in law enforcement gave Mark greater skills in stress management, leadership and punctuality. Mark dealt with numerous emergency situations, high risk calls for service and critical incidents, which will assist him in handling a high-volume courtroom with poise and calm.

Mark has returned to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office as an ASA, once again prosecuting various felony criminal cases.

The totality of Mark’s legal experience is vast, extensive and uncommon. Mark has earned well-rounded knowledge, skills and practice in a multitude of legal areas that many lawyers do not share and make him well qualified for Circuit Court Judge.