Attorney Mark Powell has been honored with this year’s Hero of Humanity Award for his support of Vikings Helping Vikings, a nonprofit organization that awards scholarships to high school seniors attending college.
“I’m truly honored by this award,” Powell said. “I am so proud of the work we’ve done, and I have to give all the credit to the many people who have worked hard to make Vikings Helping Vikings successful. They are the true heroes.”
Powell, a native of Moosic and 1982 graduate of Riverside High School, helped Vikings Helping Vikings obtain its nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service in 2008. Since its inception, he has funded the Powell Law Annual Scholarship and has been instrumental in soliciting funds to support the Riverside Class of 1982 Scholarship. As a young lawyer, he also established an annual scholarship for the Moosic Lions Club in 1994 when he served as the club’s president. Currently, he serves on the board of directors of the Moosic Youth Center where he is active at all levels from coaching basketball to daily administration and capital improvements.
As a partner in Powell Law, a law firm founded by his grandfather in 1906, Powell donates his time to represent people who can’t afford a lawyer in civil cases. He also serves on the Wills for Heroes Committee, which provides estate-planning documents to police, firefighters and military personnel. In 2014, his firm was honored with the prestigious Robert W. Munley Distinguished Service Award for its dedication to pro bono legal work. In addition to the Munley Award, Powell’s firm has been recognized every year since 2003 with the Equal Access to Justice Award presented by Lackawanna Pro Bono and the Lackawanna Bar Association. The Pennsylvania Bar Association also has recognized the firm for its pro bono work over the past decade.
After graduating from Riverside, Powell earned his undergraduate degree from Villanova University and went on to law school at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. After earning his law degree, he went on to get a Master of Laws degree from Temple University Law School. Powell is one of the only attorneys in Northeastern Pennsylvania to hold certifications as a Civil Trial Specialist and Criminal Trial Specialist from the National Board of Trial Advocacy. His practice encompasses a wide range of personal injury and criminal matters. In addition to his busy practice, Powell devotes a great deal of time to teaching other lawyers how to try cases, frequently lecturing at Temple and Georgetown universities for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.
He is a past president of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and recipient of its Lawrence W. Roth Award; past member of the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice; member of the American Association for Justice and National Trial Lawyers Association; member of the Lackawanna Bar Association, where he served as co-chair of the annual Bench Bar Conference; and a past senior hearing committee member for the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board.
Powell Law, headquartered in Scranton with offices in Stroudsburg, Moscow and Taylor, handles personal injury, auto and truck accidents, medical malpractice, wrongful death, worker’s compensation, product liability, premises liability, and Social Security Disability cases, as well as criminal defense and legal misconduct cases before the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board.
