Why I Became a Lawyer When I was in high school, there was a show about a lawyer called, “Petrocelli.” Petrocelli always took on hard cases and made justice prevail. I would tell my mother, “I want to be like Petrocelli.” I think all lawyers become lawyers for the same reason. Like Petrocelli, they want to take on the tough task of making sure that all people receive justice. They want to empower people, no matter who they are, whether rich or poor, black or white. The truth of the matter is that I never remember wanting to be anything else. Most boys dream someday of being a fireman, or a football player, but I always wanted to be a lawyer. Most college students change their major many times, but I never wavered in my pre-law major and my pursuit of law school. Who knows where such passion for a trade comes from? Along the way, my desire to be a lawyer was reinforced. I recall more than one teacher telling me, “you ought to be a lawyer, because you sure argue a lot.” After becoming a lawyer, I remember the first moment that I felt that practicing family law was my calling. It happened about 25 years ago when I was in the employ of another firm and I was interviewing a divorce client. I can remember thinking what a privilege it was to have someone trust me enough to share their marriage problems with me and to rely upon my judgment to steer them out of the trouble. That feeling has not changed in the last 25 years. I still consider the most rewarding part of my calling to be the personal interviews with my clients where I hear their story and look for ways to create options and opportunities for them that will empower them to lead the kind of life they are entitled to lead.
View Mark's oral argument at the Mississippi Court of Appeals, in the Jones v. Jones case. BROADBAND / DIALUP
View Mark's oral argument at the Mississippi Court of Appeals, in the Lawrence v. Lawrence case. BROADBAND / DIALUP
View Mark's oral argument at the Mississippi Court of Appeals, concerning the enforceability of escalation clauses in Property Settlement Agreements in a divorce action. Requires RealPlayer.

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Mark, native of Jackson, Mississippi, is married to Cathy, and they have four beautiful daughters, Courtney, Casey, Carly, and Conley. Mark is a member of Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson, where he sings in the choir and acts in Church plays.

Mark Chinn is one of only 15 Family Lawyers selected out of all the lawyers in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi to be a Mid-South Super Lawyer. The selction process is rigorous and includes a blue ribbon panel review process, independent research on candidates, and surveys of over 23,000 lawyers in the United States.

Mark Chinn operates a law firm in Jackson, Mississippi dedicated solely to Family Law and is author of How to Build and Manage a Family Law Practice, published by the American Bar Association in 2006, and The Constructive Divorce, published by the ABA in 2007. He is also a contributing author in How to Capture and Keep Clients, published by the American Bar Association General Practice Solo Section in 2005 and 101 Practical Solutions for the Family Lawyer, published by the ABA Family Law Section. All ABA books may be ordered at www.ababooks.org. Mark has authored numerous articles on family law and law practice management for National and Local publications. Mark is a frequent speaker for the ABA Family Law Section and the Mississippi Bar and has also made recent presentations as follows:

• “Creating the Law Practice of Your Dreams.” Presented to the 2006 Annual meeting of the Iowa Bar in Des Moines, Iowa
• “Dumping the Billable Hour” presented to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Florida Chapter in 2006.
• “Marketing for Those Who Hate It” presented to the Fall Meeting of the Family Law Section of the ABA in Santa Fe, N.M. in Fall, 2006.
• “World Class Service” presented to the Florida Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Meeting, Grand Hyatt, Tampa, Florida, May 4, 2007.

Mark was the recipient in 1996 of the Award of Merit for distinguished service to the Bar and the public and was enrolled as a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation in 1997. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Martindale-Hubbell's Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers in the field of Family Law. He is one of the one hundred attorneys that were selected from Mississippi for membership into the Outstanding Lawyers of America. He has an AV rating and is certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Mark has been featured in the National Lawyer’s Weekly Magazine for delivering world class service. He is author of a chapter entitled, “Marketing is Not a Dirty Word,” in How to Capture and Keep Clients, published by the American Bar Association General Practice Solo Section in 2005 and author of the soon to be published How to Build and Manage a Family Law Practice to be published in 2006 as a joint venture of the Family Law and Law Practice Management Sections of the American Bar Association. He has been a frequent speaker for the American Bar Association Family Law Section and the Mississippi Bar on issues of family law practice management and delivering world class service.

Mark has been Chairman of the Family Law Section of the Mississippi Bar twice and is a member of the governing council of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association. His other work with the Mississippi Bar has included: Chairman in 1995-96 of the Solo and Small Firm Practice Committee, and past service on the Ethics, Client Relations, Women in the Profession, and Fee Dispute Resolution Committees.

Mark was Chairman of the Lamar Order of the University of Mississippi School of Law Alumni Association in 2002. He was President of the Hinds County Bar Association for 1998-99 and is a Master of the Bench in the Charles Clark American Inn of Court.

He was elected Vice Chair of the Supreme Court=s Gender Fairness Task Force and was appointed by the Governor of Mississippi to the Children=s Justice Task Force.

Community activities include: Chairman of the Jackson Urban League Board of Directors (1995-2000); Chairman of the Tenth Jubilee! Jam in May 1996 which featured the Olympic Torch; Jubilee! Jam Foundation Board, Arts Alliance Board, Opera Board and Leadership Jackson.

Mark has participated as a seminar speaker for The Peoples Law School, The Mississippi Bar, the ABA Family Law Section and others. He lectures at the Ole Miss Law School and has been an adjunct professor of law at the Mississippi College School of Law where he taught a course he designed in Law Practice Management.

Black belt in Karate and kick boxing and a veteran of the 20 years of Rugby, Mark is also a private pilot and enjoys golf and weightlifting and just begun piano lessons.

Mark received his undergraduate degree from Iowa State University in 1975 and his Law Degree from the University of Mississippi in 1978. He is admitted to practice in all courts in Mississippi, the Fifth and Seventh Circuits and the United States Supreme Court.

Commitment to Excellence - A key element of the commitment to excellence of Chinn & Associates is the efforts of its lawyers and staff to maintain their education. The Mississippi Bar requires lawyers to achieve 12 hours of continuing legal education each year. To the right are the numbers of hours of continuing education credit earned by Mark A. Chinn for each year since July 1, 1997. These hours were earned through attending and presenting at Mississippi and National meetings and seminars and through attendance and presenting during telephone or webinar seminars.

Community Investment - Chinn & Associates has grown from a sole proprietorship with one part time employee in 1988 to a thriving firm with 4 lawyers and 8 support staff. In July of 1999, Mark Chinn completed construction of a new 12,000 square foot building to serve as headquarters for his law firm. It is located on Old Canton Road just north of Meadowbrook Road in Northeast Jackson. Chinn has designed the building to serve the needs of clients in distress. Quality of Life-Mark Chinn completed years as Chairman of the Urban League of Greater Jackson. Among its many achievements are the establishment of a discount store in Jackson Mall which is staffed by welfare recipients to train for the workforce. Chinn served on the Jubilee! Jam planning committee for 10 years, culminating with his chairmanship of the festival for the historic Olympic Torch, Tenth Anniversary. He served for many years on the Boards of the Arts Alliance, Opera, and Mississippi Children's Home Society and Family Services Association. Mark is active member of Christ United Methodist Church where he sings in the choir.

Labor and Management Relations - Chinn & Associates strives to provide state of the art work environment and tools and benefits. Employees are afforded incentive pay and bonuses, flexible work hours, pension and profit sharing, AFLAC, and other benefits.

Leadership - Chinn & Associates employs a unique system for delivering caring and high caliber legal advice and assistance to people in divorce. Chinn employs a unique staff consisting of five attorneys. One of the legal assistants include an accountant to handle the financial aspects of divorce. The entire firm is structured and trained to deliver unparalleled service.

Recognition - Mark Chinn has been selected for inclusion in the exclusive publication, Best Lawyers in America in the field of family law. Mark served as President of the prestigious Lamar Order of the University of Mississippi Law School Alumni Association. Mark was the recipient in 1996 of the Award of Merit for distinguished service to the Bar and the public and was enrolled as a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation in 1997 for outstanding legal ability and devotion to the public and profession. He is one of four lawyers from Jackson, Ms. to be selected for Martindale-Hubbell's 1999 Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers in the field of Family Law. He has an "AV" rating and is certified as a Civil Trial Expert by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. His work with the Bar has included: Chairman in 1995-96 of the Solo and Small Firm Practice Committee; Chairman, Family Law Section, (95-96 and 2000-01), and past service on the Ethics, Client Relations, Women in the Profession, and Fee Dispute Resolution Committees. He was President of the Hinds County Bar Association for 1998-99. He is active in the ABA and has been elected to the governing council of the ABA Family Law Section.

Mark's proudest accomplishment is his marriage to Cathy of 30+ years and their four daughters Courtney, Casey, Carley, and Conley.