Mark Bakker's practice focuses on commercial litigation with an emphasis in employment law.  He has litigated cases in state and federal courts and before arbitration panels. In addition to litigation, Mark also provides proactive employment advice and counseling to entrepreneurs, start-up companies, and to human resource personnel and management. Mark also has a well established mediation and alternative dispute resolution practice and is certified to mediate in the South Carolina state and federal courts.

Examples of the legal services Mark provides include:

• Litigating discrimination and wage-and-hour lawsuits.
• Handling EEOC and other agency charges and claims.
• Litigating restrictive covenants and other employee raiding and recruitment cases.
• Bringing and defending ERISA benefit and other insurance-related claims.
• Counseling on terminations, discipline, WARN Act, and layoffs.
• Drafting employment and executive contracts.
• Reviewing employee handbooks and other employment policies.
• Designing dispute resolution systems for employee-employer disputes.
• Presenting in-house seminars for employment clients and employment-related CLEs.

In the News

• Twenty Wyche Lawyers Listed in the 2012 Edition of Best Lawyers®
• Wyche is Recognized in Every Category for South Carolina in the 2011 Edition of Chambers USA

Representative Matters

• Defended Delta Mills, Inc., and received a defense verdict in a lawsuit alleging defective fabric claims in excess of $1.0 million
• Successfully had Milliken & Co. dismissed from a lawsuit involving a workplace death based on workers' compensation exclusivity doctrine
• Successfully settled a severe automobile wreck case for $150,000 in which Plaintiff claimed a traumatic brain injury, permanent disability, and extensive medical damages
• Mediated over 500 cases with a settlement rate well over 90%

Professional Background

Bar and Court Admissions

• Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1997
• South Carolina Bar, 1996
• South Carolina State and Federal Courts, 1996
• North Carolina State and Federal Courts, 1996
• North Carolina Bar, 1995

Professional and Community Activities

• Certified Civil Court Mediator, 1996-present
• Greenville County Workforce Investment Board, September 2011–present
• Greenville Little League Coach, 2011
• Upstate Community Mediation Center, Board Member emeritus, present; Board Member, 1999–2007; Chairman, 2001-2003; Vice Chairman, 1999–2000
• South Carolina Bar Association
• American Bar Association: Employment and Labor Law Section; Alternate Dispute Resolution Section
• Federalist Society
• Defense Research Institute: Employment Law Committee; Life, Health & Disability Committee
• Upstate Mediation Network
• Lex Mundi Institute Foundation Management Program graduate
• Leadership Greenville, Class 26
• Downtown Presbyterian Church, Elder, 2007-present
• East Park Historic Preservation Area, former president

Publications and Presentations

• "HR 101:  What You Don't Know CAN Hurt You", Seminar co-sponsored by Wyche, P.A. and FGP HR Consulting, September 27, 2011
• "Best Practices in Leave Management," Greenville SHRM 13th Annual HR & Management Conference, August 23, 2011
• Doing Business in South Carolina Guide, co-author of Section VI:  Employment and Labor Laws, updated August 2010
• Enforceability of Arbitration Agreements, as heard on "South Carolina Business Review" with Mike Switzer broadcast on April 18, 2008
• Contributing Editor, Tortious Interference in the Employment Context – A State-by-State Survey, published by the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, 2d ed., 2007
• "Time Off in South Carolina," Lorman Education Services, Greenville, South Carolina, October 20, 2004
• "Mental Health and Emotional Issues in the Workplace," Sterling Education Services, Greenville, South Carolina, April 6, 2004
• "Workplace Torts," Sterling Education Services, Greenville, South Carolina, January 22, 2003
• "Payment On A Salaried Basis: Preserving the Exemption," Lorman Education Services, Greenville, South Carolina, September 28, 2000
• "Defining Your Role In Protecting Your Employees When Domestic Violence Becomes A Workplace Issue," Council on Education in Management, Greenville, SC, November 3, 1998
• "Mediating Criminal Conflicts," South Carolina Council for Conflict Resolution, Charleston, SC, October 9, 1998
• Author, "Repairing the Breach and Reconciling the Discordant: Mediation in the Criminal Justice System", 72 North Carolina Law Review 1479, 1994

Government Service

• South Carolina Procurement Review Panel, panel member, June 2003–April 2012