Mark Behrens

Mark Behrens co-chairs Shook’s Washington, D.C.-based Public Policy Practice Group and is a leading national litigator on civil justice issues. He has over thirty years of experience working on civil justice issues and defense litigation. A substantial part of his practice is working to improve the civil litigation environment through state and federal legislation; in the courts through amicus curiae briefs; through legal scholarship and judicial education; and in the court of public opinion.

Mark is actively involved in civil justice reform efforts at the federal and state levels. In 2015, he received an Individual Achievement Award from the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and most state legislatures on behalf of business and civil justice organizations. In addition, he has served as an expert witness in trials and arbitrations.

Mark also has an active amicus brief practice focusing on tort liability and civil justice issues. He has authored or co-authored over 150 amicus briefs in cases before the United States Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts on behalf of business, civil justice and defense lawyer organizations. He is co-counsel to the Coalition for Litigation Justice, Inc. (CLJ), a nonprofit formed by insurers in 2000 to address and improve the litigation environment for asbestos and other toxic tort claims. The CLJ files amicus briefs in cases that may significantly impact such claims.

In addition, Mark routinely files comments on behalf of business, civil justice, and defense lawyer organizations regarding potential changes to federal and state court rules. He chairs the International Association of Defense Counsel’s (IADC) Civil Justice Response Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ). In 2024, he received an Outstanding Contributor Award from LCJ. In 2016, he received the IADC’s Joan Fullam Irick Award for his work as Civil Justice Response Committee chair.

Mark is a member of The American Law Institute (ALI) and has taught as an adjunct faculty member in law schools. He received a Burton Award for Legal Achievement and has published over fifty scholarly articles in leading national journals and law reviews including the Harvard Journal on Legislation. He published one of the top five most-cited articles in the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy as of the journal’s 25th Anniversary. Another article was selected by the Texas Tech Law Review as Outstanding Lead Article of the year. Mark has been quoted in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the National Law Journal, and has appeared on radio and television, including CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg and CNN.

Mark serves on a number of legal advisory boards including the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center’s State Litigation Advisory Committee, Washington Legal Foundation’s Legal Policy Advisory Board, and NFIB Small Business Legal Center’s Advisory Board. He is a member of the Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc. (PLAC) and serves on the Executive Committee of The Federalist Society’s Litigation Practice Group.

Mark received his J.D. in 1990 from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review and received an award for achievement in tort law. He received his B.A. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987.