W. Mark Montgomery (“Mark”) has a long and successful history as a diligent researcher and public speaker since early in his life. He was a state champion in debate during high school and either won or placed all four years of high school and was State of Oklahoma runner up in extemporaneous speaking his senior year.
Mark parlayed his early debate success into a full scholarship at Southeastern Oklahoma State University where he won numerous awards in debate against national competitors, including winning the University of Florida tournament as a freshman while competing against all classifications. During his senior year, Mark decided to help the team by giving up his eligibility and instead coached the team when the regular coach suffered an injury from house fire that prevented him from traveling with the team; Montgomery’s extensive research and key communication skills enabled him to be a successful coach, sending several teams on to the debate National Tournament.
Mark obtained his Masters while he continued coaching the university speech and debate team. Taking a break from coaching, Mark spent a year as the city editor of The Henryetta Daily Freelance. It was here that Montgomery felt the yearning to get into the courtroom as he learned how local government and politics shaped so much of people’s lives. The next year while studying for the legal bar admittance test, Mark taught and coached at the Jenks, Oklahoma Middle and High School which is a 6A school with a great reputation for its academic and sports programs. In the year that he served there, Mark successfully coached another team to the Cross Examination National tournament.
With his successful debate background, Mark was awarded the Leon Jaworski scholarship to Baylor University. This scholarship, named for the former Watergate prosecutor, was given each year to 2 or 3 former debaters who also showed excellence in the Classroom. After finishing law school, Mark couldn’t wait to get into the Courtroom so he decided to take a position as an Assistant County Attorney in Grayson County. Mark had a first chair jury trial his second day of work. Working in a medium sized county provided Mark the opportunity to move to felony prosecution in less than a year. By the time MARK left the DA office for private practice, he was the chief prosecutor for crimes against children.
In 1994, Montgomery left Grayson County and joined George Parker and Associates where he became a partner leading a wide variety of cases including family law, custody, wrongful death, criminal defense, probate, personal injury, and civil work, both for both plaintiff and defendant. The wide variety of cases presented has seasoned Mark as a well rounded litigator. In 2001 he was named by his peers as the top personal injury litigator in Collin County (Texas Lawyer). In addition he has been involved in a broad range of a cases including murder cases, child abuse cases, as well as consumer protection cases (Texas DTPA).
Mark has expanded his client services with his mediation practice, using his knowledge of the Collin County judicial system to help other litigants settle their cases. He serves as local counsel for many firms throughout Texas, and receives much of his business from client referrals. He feels that the ultimate compliment is to receive a referral from a former opponent, which is a frequent occurrence.
Mark remains eager to serve new clients and has put together a great team to help make sure that the Law Offices of Mark Montgomery do the best job possible for his customers.
W. MARK MONTGOMERY RESUME HIGHLIGHTS
EDUCATION:
- Graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State University 1985
- Bachelor of Arts / Master of Education 1986
- Baylor Law School 1991 (Leon Jaworski Scholarship recipient)
WORK HISTORY:
- Instructor Southeastern Oklahoma State University 1986
- City Editor Henryretta Daily Freelance, Henryetta, Oklahoma 1987
- Teacher, Jenks High School and Jenks Middle School, Jenks, Oklahoma 1987 1988
LAW PRACTICE:
- Private Practice, Law Offices of Mark Montgomery
- Private Practice, Parker & Montgomery 2000 2010
- Private Practice, George Parker & Associates 1994 2000
- Prosecutor, Sherman/Grayson Counties 1992 1994