Like his father before him, Mark Avera has a history of many years of service to the people of Florida. His knowledge and understanding of the legal needs of his clients come not only from the practice of law, but from his early career as a sheriff’s deputy in Alachua County.
Avera & Smith’s Mark Avera is recognized as one of Florida’s preeminent trial lawyers focusing on cases involving catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death with emphasis on professional negligence including medical and legal malpractice. Mark’s trial career includes jury verdicts against tobacco giants RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris as part of A&S’s tobacco trial team.
His successful career is marked by a number of jury verdicts in favor of his clients that are among some of the largest awarded by Florida juries. Mark is admitted to all of Florida’s district courts and is admitted to practice in North Carolina including admission to the Eastern District of North Carolina, the current venue for cases arising from claims by military personnel and their family members for exposure to toxic water at Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune from the 1950’s through the 1980’s.
Mark is one of Florida’s few lawyers board certified in civil trial law. He has been board certified in his specialty of civil trial for over a quarter of a century, having first become board certified in 1998. His recognition as one of the state’s top trial lawyers over the years is demonstrated by Florida Trend and Florida Super Lawyers recognizing his accomplishments in the courtrooms of Florida as one of the state’s top civil trial lawyers. In 2007, Lawdragon recognized Mark as one of the country’s top 500 lawyers representing plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death litigation. He has been recognized as one of America’s best courtroom lawyers by Best Lawyers in America and has the highest rating from Martindale-Hubbell for skill and professionalism. In 2019, Mark was recognized as the Florida Trial Lawyer of the Year by Courtroom View Network.
In addition to his bar memberships in Florida and North Carolina, Mark has been inducted into the prestigious International Society of Barristers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is a member of the American Association for Justice, the Southern Trial Lawyers Association, The North Carolina Association for Justice, the Florida Justice Association, and the American Board of Trial Advocates, having served as the North Florida chapter president from 2015-2021.
Mark’s community service has included stints on various boards of directors including SPARC, Children’s Home Society of North Florida, North Florida Heart Ball, and the Santa Fe College Foundation
Before becoming a lawyer at Avera & Smith in 1989 (then Avera & Avera), Mark served as a sheriff’s deputy for Alachua County. He became the department’s youngest deputy ever to be promoted to the rank of Sergeant. His primary assignments during his time at ASO included uniform patrol division, SWAT and the supervision of the department’s Street Crimes Unit.
Mark is an aviation enthusiast flying different models of aircraft since 1995 including the Cirrus SR22, Citation I, II, SII, V, Ultra, Encore and the Eclipse Jet. He loves the outdoors and when not in the courtroom, can often be found fishing Florida’s beautiful waters or playing golf. Mark is married to the former Stacy Marie Upchurch, and their blended family consists of four children: Alexandria, Danielle, Myles and Weston. They all enjoy the outdoors and travel.
