Mark Alan Sylvester

Mark A. Sylvester is a partner in the law firm of Leesfield, Leighton & Partners, P.A., He specializes in complex civil litigation including personal injury, wrongful death, aviation law, motor vehicle accidents, cruise ship accidents, premise liability, and product liability. Mr. Sylvester was recently named one of the Elite attorneys in the State of Florida in the 2007 edition of Florida Trend magazine. He was one of 868 attorneys selected for this honor from amongst the 59,481 attorneys licensed to practice in the State.

As a licensed pilot, Mr. Sylvester brings a unique expertise to cases involving aviation crashes and aviation law. Recently, Mr. Sylvester obtained 6, obtaining a multi-million dollar settlement on behalf of the families of a pilot and passenger who were killed when Federal Aviation Air Traffic Controllers failed to provide the pilot with pertinent and observed severe weather information that when associated with mechanical problems with the aircraft led to the crash.

Mr. Sylvester was elected to the Board of Directors for the Dade County Bar Association in 2004, and appointed in 2005 to the Board of Directors for Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc., an organization that provides free legal services to the low income community in areas of housing, employment, government benefits, special education, and community economic development. In July of 2007, Mr. Sylvester was elected Chair of the American Justice Association’s Federal Tort Claim and Military Advocacy Section. He previously held the position of chair-elect in 2006, and secretary of the section in 2005.

Mr. Sylvester is a cum laude graduate of the University of Miami School of Law where he was a member of the University of Miami Business Law Review. He was co-founder of the University of Miami School of Law’s Aviation Law Society and served as the organizations first vice-president and thereafter president. Mr. Sylvester has a particular interest in aviation and aviation law as he is a licensed aircraft pilot. He completed his undergraduate studies at Middlebury College (Vermont) where he graduated cum laude and was a member of the NCAA Men’s Varsity Basketball Team, 1991-1994.