Mark Skinner (JD '96) featured in Siskiyou Daily News

February 20, 2016 -- Pepperdine Law alumnus Mark Skinner (JD '96) has been recognized in The Siskiyou Daily News for his family law practice in Yreka, California.

 

Excerpted from The Siskiyou Daily News:

Just about the last job Mark Skinner had in mind when he graduated from law school was family law attorney, but, he says, a professor of his had said, “You can plan all you like, but the first job you take out of law school determines what kind of law you practice,” and that is exactly what happened to him.

 

A finance major as an undergraduate, Skinner wanted to practice employment and disability law when he graduated from Pepperdine Law School in 1996, but jobs were scarce and Skinner ended up working at the Pro Bono Project in Santa Clara, California, taking on indigent clients charged with child support where paternity was at issue, and he has enthusiastically continued to practice in the field of family law for almost 20 years...

 

...In 2013, Skinner got the job of Family Law Facilitator at Siskiyou County Superior Court. It was a good fit for him, because he had attended the Straus Institute at Pepperdine, which is rated as the number one institute in the world for learning dispute resolution, says Skinner, and has an extensive background in the area.

 

He has put those techniques to good use at his current position; Skinner says his goal is to help people focus on finishing their case, not just file it, and conflict management is a valuable tool in accomplishing that goal. Skinner feels strongly that a major part of his job is to educate people, not only in the way the court works, but in resolving their conflicts with others rather than spending a lot of time and money on a court case. His goal, says Skinner, is to do what is necessary to resolve the case.