Mark Parenti is a longtime trial and appellate lawyer. He has extensive experience representing local and international clients in complex state and federal civil litigation, as well as federal criminal cases. As an appellate attorney, Mark has served as lead counsel in almost 100 appeals.

As a criminal defense attorney, Mark has represented individuals charged with offenses ranging from capital crimes to misdemeanors before federal trial courts, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Ninth Circuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

For over 15 years, Mark has had his own firm, where he strives to provide his clients large and small with effective advocacy and thoughtful advice about their options.

Mark has extensive experience in government service. He has worked as Deputy Counsel for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Inspector General, as a Senior Staff Attorney in the Office of General Counsel for the Texas A&M University System, and as a Texas Assistant Attorney General.

​Mark began his work as an attorney as an associate for the national labor and employment firm of Littler Mendelson P.C. After graduating from law school, he clerked for two years for the now retired United States District Judge Melinda Harmon in the Southern District of Texas in Houston.

Mark graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law, where he served as Articles Editor of the Maryland Law Review. He received a Masters in Public Administration from Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service, where he was a George H.W. Bush Fellow. He studied the classics at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, graduating with a Masters degree. Mark’s undergraduate degree is in political science from the University of Maryland, where he was on the debate team.

Mark has served as President of the St. John’s College Alumni Association and a member of the St. John’s College Board of Visitors and Governors. He has been a leader of the Association’s Houston Chapter and received St. John’s Alumni Volunteer Service Award. Mark is active in Houston’s Italian community and has served as a member of the board of directors of the Italian Cultural and Community Center of Houston.