Shook, Benjamin E

Pain is inevitable; misery is optional. That is the philosophy that governs Mark Shields' approach to legal problems, particularly in family law. While many legal issues deal with contracts, bills or dented fenders, a family law situation is thicker because it deals directly with people. What's more, those people comprise the family, which Mark believes to be the fundamental unit of society. Because a family law issue is so important and so personal, it should be handled by someone who understands humans and someone who cares. Mark believes that being down to earth and an honest, approachable guy is just as important in the practice of law as it is in life in general.

Mark Shields has been married for over seventeen years and is the proud father of five daughters. He is a native of Phoenix and has deep Arizona roots, going back four generations. He is also a third-generation Arizona lawyer. Mark graduated from Washington High School in Phoenix and graduated from Brigham Young University in 1993 with a degree in sociology. Before earning his bachelor's degree, Mark also spent two years in Portugal as a missionary for his church and working with people of varied backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures. After working for a year or two while his wife finished up her degree, Mark entered the J. Reuben Clark Law School, where he graduated in 1997. Mark's law school class was ranked seventh in the nation for average GPA and LSAT scores, so he was immediately initiated into a highly competitive environment.

Mark began with Gillespie, Shields & Durrant back when it was Gillespie & Associates in 1996, prior to his last year of law school. Since that time, Mark has practiced heavily in the area of family law and has also had extensive experience in civil litigation, employment law, juvenile law, and insurance disputes.

Mark is happy to report that his approach to practicing law has changed remarkably little during this recession because he has always sought to deliver true value to his clients. Whether the case involves millions of dollars or no dollars, Mark has consistently sought to provide his clients the best service for the most accessible price.

In his spare time, if there is such a thing, Mark enjoys spending time with his family (especially when it's in the White Mountains), listening to fine music of many genres, building high quality stereo speakers, home improvement projects, and, more recently writing. Mark has published two religious books and hopes to publish more in the years to come. Mark speaks Portuguese and has also studied Spanish, German, and a few other languages through the years.