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     Mark Zientz is an Emeritus member of the Executive Council of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Florida Bar, a former Vice-Chair of the Worker’s Compensation Rules Committee of the Florida Bar, an Arbitrator for the National Football League Players Association/Management Council as well as a member of the faculty of the Workers’ Compensation Trial Advocacy Seminar since the inception of the program.  Mr. Zientz has also been a past President of the Friends of 440, Inc. The Friends of 440 is named for chapter 440, the Florida workers’ compensation law. During the term I was president the Friends of 440 Scholarship Fund was started. The fund boasts an endowment of over 1 million dollars and awards scholarships annually to the children of injured workers and employees of organizations engaged in providing workers compensation benefits.

     Mr. Zientz is the attorney responsible for handling the appeals in over 350 cases in which the appellate court issued a written opinion.  Mr Zientz represented one of the parties in many of these cases at the trial level as well. Some of his appellate work has produced landmark cases such as Barrigan v. City of Miami (overturning 13 years of adverse rulings to obtain reimbursement for Police and Firefighters whose pensions were unlawfully reduced), Cagnoli v. Tandem Staffing, SRS Hartford and the Division of Workers’ Compensation (allowing injured workers to file their claims without having to reveal their social security numbers), Bysczynski v. U.P.S (preventing reduction of workers’ compensation benefits due to a previous work injury), and Gauthier v. F.I.U (requiring compensation carriers to fully investigate claims before denying benefits). He is the lead attorney at the trial level and for the appeal in the case of FWA, WILG and Padgett v. State of Florida in which the trial judge found the Florida workers’ compensation law unconstitutional.

     Mark Zientz is admitted to practice law in three states and before the Supreme Court of the United States.  Aside from Florida, where he currently lives and practices, he is also admitted to the bar in the State of New York where he served as a Kings County (Brooklyn) Assistant District Attorney from 1971 to 1974. He has recently taken senior status in the State Bar of Montana where he was admitted in 1996.

     Mr. Zientz attended primary school in New York City, received his Bachelor of Science degree from New York University (1964), and then received his J.D. Degree from Brooklyn Law School (1971).  Since 1988 he has been Florida Bar Board Certified in Workers’ Compensation. He is rated Av by Martindale Hubbell.

     Mr. Zientz is a member of the board of directors of the Workers Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG) and Florida Workers Advocates (FWA). He has written extensively on the subject of workers’ compensation for the News and 440 Report, The Florida Bar Journal and WILG’s “First Watch”. He has also prepared numerous Amicus Curiae briefs in the Florida Supreme Court and the First District Court of Appeal on behalf of WILG and FWA.

 For more information on Mark L. Zientz, click here.