
Attorney Profile
Mark Lavoie represents businesses and individuals involved in complex, high exposure disputes, including malpractice and other health care litigation, commercial disputes, employment claims, product liability lawsuits, and the full range of professional negligence cases. He also represents health care institutions, physicians, dentists, engineers, lawyers and other professional service providers in administrative and regulatory licensure and credentialing controversies.
What motivates Mark in his representation of clients is the challenge of mastering extremely technical information and advocating for his clients in negotiations, administrative hearings, and in trials in state and federal courtrooms. He is admitted to practice before the First Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, as well as in state and federal courts in Maine.
Mark was selected to serve as Law Clerk for Maine’s distinguished Superior and Supreme Court Justice Harry Glassman following graduation from the University of Maine School of Law in 1978, where he was a member of the law review, a legal writing instructor and recipient of the faculty’s annual award to the student who has made the most significant contribution to the school. He subsequently joined Norman Hanson & DeTroy in 1979 where he continues to provide advice and representation in civil case trials before judge and jury– with the same dedication, devotion and energy he first brought to the practice of law.
Committed to continuing education and to improving his skills as an advocate, Mark is a past president of the Maine State Bar Association, and has held officers’ and committee positions in a wide variety of professional associations. He has lectured extensively on trial topics and has taught lawyers how to negotiate and try cases in many venues, including the Maine College of Trial Advocacy. Mark holds an Honorary Membership in the Canadian Bar Association, and he is a Diplomate of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been rated in the highest tier of professional achievement in the leading bar directories, including Chambers, Benchmark Litigation, Martindale-Hubbell and Best Lawyers in America, which named him the best personal injury lawyer in his community in 2011 and the best malpractice defense lawyer in 2012. Mark also has been designated one of the top 100 trial lawyers in New England in the Super Lawyers Directory for 2017.
Affiliations
Admitted to Practice
- State of Maine
- U.S. District Court, District of Maine
- U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Member, Past and Present
- Maine State Bar Association, President
- Cumberland County Bar Association, Member
- Canadian Bar Association, Honorary Member
- Defense Research Institute, State Representative
- Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel, State Chair
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Diplomate
- Maine Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Governors
- Northern New England Defense Counsel Association, President
- Maine Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Maine’s Justice Action Group, Member
- Maine Judicial Performance Council, Member
- Maine Civil Rules Committee, Member
Selected Reported Cases
- Mitchell v. Kieliszek, 2006 ME 70, 900 A.2d 719.
- Hawks v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 2001 ME 8, 764 A.2d 258.
- Millet v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 2000 ME 178, 760 A.2d 250.
- Acadia Ins. Co. v. Buck Construction Co., 2000 ME 154, 756 A.2d 515.
- Hamilton v. Greenleaf, 677 A.2d 525 (Me. 1996).
Awards, Merits & Honors
- Featured as a Litigation Star in Benchmark Litigation 2016
- Recognized by Best Lawyers for 2015 (since 2007)
- Noted as “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers for 2014 in Medical Malpractice – Defendants
- Identified among the New England Super Lawyers (2007 – 2015)
- Mentioned as a “Local Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation for 2013 and 2014
- Specially mentioned as a “Key Individual” by Chambers & Partners for 2013
- Recognized by Best Lawyers of America – Medical Malpractice Law and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
- “Lawyer of the Year” Best Lawyers – Medical Malpractice Law (Defendants) 2020