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Mark W. Bennett

Retired U.S. District Court Judge

National experience, midwestern work ethic and fees

Mediation, Arbitration, and Legal Consulting
Video Conferencing Available

SERVICES

There are a lot of great mediators in Iowa but if my experience provides value to you please contact me

Scales of Justice

MEDIATON SERVICES

Mediation is a process where parties involved in a dispute either before or after a lawsuit is filed voluntarily decide and agree to retain the services of a professional mediator to assist the parties and their lawyers in reaching a negotiated voluntary settlement. Mark W. Bennett has experience in both facilitative and evaluative mediation. Bennett has mediated a wide range of cases including class actions, products liability, personal injury, commercial, employment discrimination and other employment claims, estate and trust, disputes between law firms, executive compensation, excessive force, wrongful death,  intellectual property, and issues arising in both school, junior college and university contexts.

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ARBITRATION SERVICES

Arbitration is a private process where parties with a dispute agree that one or sometimes three arbitrators can make a decision about the dispute after evidence and arguments by the lawyers are presented. Arbitration differs from mediation because the arbitrator has the authority and the duty to make a decision about the dispute. The arbitration process can be similar to a trial but is more flexible and can be designed by the parties and the arbitrator to suit their needs. Compared to traditional trials, arbitration can be scheduled sooner, is almost always completed more quickly, and is less formal. Mark W. Bennett has experience both as a sole arbitrator and on three-person panels. He has been selected as an arbitrator in Iowa and nationally.

Judge's Table

LEGAL CONSULTING SERVICES

I have available to consult with lawyers on a wide range of both civil and criminal cases at both the trial court and appellate levels. As a federal judge I handled more than 4000 civil cases in seven different districts and sentenced more than 4000 defendants in five districts. Several of my variances from the federal sentencing Guidelines were affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. I have experience sitting on two U.S. courts of appeals by designation and argued numerous cases in the Iowa Supreme Court as a lawyer in addition to several of the U.S. courts of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

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MARK W. BENNETT

  • 24 years as a federal district judge in the N.D. of Iowa; 3 years as a magistrate judge in the S.D. of Iowa; and 16 years as a practicing lawyer in Des Moines

  • Experience in more than 20 federal district courts as a lawyer and trying jury trials as a federal judge  in 6 districts from the M.D. of Florida to the District of the Northern Mariana Islands in Saipan

  • Experience in thousands of civil cases and  all types of complex litigation including anti-trust; business disputes; class & collective actions; employment law & discrimination; medical & legal malpractice; patent & trademark; personal injury; securities; and other cases

  • Experience in more than 150 cases sitting by designation on U.S. courts of appeals

  • More than 500 CLE presentations in 39 states and several foreign countries to more than 100,000 lawyers and judges

  • Teaching at 4 law schools and published more than two dozen law review articles, a book and book chapters

  • View CV here

GET IN TOUCH 

To Schedule an In-Person or Virtual Mediation, Arbitration, or Consultation:

515 - 414 - 1186

mark@mbennett.us

Des Moines, IA, USA

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