Personal Experience

Mark S. O’Connor is a highly experienced trial attorney and member of Beus Gilbert McGroder PLLC, a premier boutique law firm concentrating on High Stakes Litigation, Real Estate and Zoning Law, and Plaintiffs Catastrophic Injury & Wrongful Death.  Mr. O’Connor is a member of the firm’s High Stakes Litigation and Plaintiffs Catastrophic Injury & Wrongful Death practices. He is a certified specialist in the area of personal injury and wrongful death litigation by the State Bar of Arizona and has represented hundreds of victims of catastrophic injury and wrongful death throughout his career and served as lead trial counsel in numerous jury trials. 

On March 21, 2017, Mark was appointed co-lead counsel for Plaintiffs in the multi-district litigation In Re: Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation and co-liaison counsel in the related consolidated cases in the Maricopa County Superior Court.  In March 2018, Mark and his trial team obtained a $3.6 million award in the first bellwether trial of the multi-district litigation.  The June 2019 issue of Arizona Attorney included this verdict as one of the top ten civil verdicts in Arizona in 2018. The same article noted the award included the largest award of punitive damages in Arizona in 2018.

In July 2002, Mark undertook the pro bono representation of victims and families of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks for the Victim Compensation Fund.  He is listed in “The Best Lawyers in America,” “Southwest Super Lawyers,” and “Top 100 Trial Lawyers.” In 2014, he was also elected by his peers as a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers. In 2022, Mark was named as one of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers by Lawdragon, one of the most prestigious legal publications in America.

Professional Distinctions

• AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
• The Best Lawyers in America®, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, 2009-2022
• Selected by Law Dragon as one of 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, 2022
• Southwest Super Lawyers®, Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff, 2009-2020
• Arizona Finest Lawyers, 2011; Arizona Finest Lawyers, Sustaining Member, 2014-Present
• The National Trial Lawyers Association, The Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America

Professional Certifications

• Certified Specialist, Personal Injury/Wrongful Death, Arizona Board of Legal Specialization

Memberships & Activities

• State Bar of Arizona, Member
• Maricopa County Bar Association, Member
• Arizona Association for Justice also known as Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Directors
• American Association for Justice, Member
• International Society of Barristers, Fellow

Publications

• Informed Consent, NALA Facts & Findings, March/April 2015

Speaking Engagements

• American Bar Association, Litigation Section, 2021 Virtual Section Annual Conference, The Polarization of American Jurors
• National Trial Lawyers Summit 2020; Important Pre-Trial Strategies: Focus Groups, Demonstratives, Negotiations and Finishing Touches; Creating, Developing and Testing Case and Damages Themes
• The State Bar of Arizona Professionalism Course, Continuing Legal Education (CLE) by the Sea; panelist
• Arizona’s Top Ten-How They Did It; panelist