“People come to the Probate and Family Court at difficult times in their lives such as divorce and when a loved one dies. My goal as Register is to make the process as seamless as possible for them.”

For the past 27 years, Mark has worked on many projects to assist people with cases in the Hampshire Probate & Family Court. He manages the Introductory Mediation and Conciliation programs which provide professional assistance in reaching agreements about legal issues. He also helped establish the Lawyer for a Day program that allows self-represented litigants an opportunity to get free legal advice about their case. He was instrumental in creating and staffing the court’s satellite office in Belchertown to provide easier access to the courts for families residing in Belchertown, Granby and Ware.

Part of the job of the Register is to maintain the records of the court. In order to preserve Hampshire County’s historically important court records, Mark wrote a successful grant application which funded a preservation project (completed in 2016) that digitized and cataloged documents from 1660 to1890, making them available to the public for free through the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Mark has also served on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Archives and Records Advisory Committee which seeks to preserve court records statewide.

A third-generation native of Northampton, Mark and his wife Catherine have two children who have attended Northampton Public Schools.