About Our Firm
The O’Mara Law Group is a private law practice that takes pride in helping good people through difficult situations. As criminal defense attorneys, we help people accused of crimes navigate the justice system. As practitioners of family law, we help people sort through contentious family disputes. Through our trial consultancy work, we support great lawyers with our seasoned trial team. With our media management services, we help clients with high-profile legal issues affirmatively address the press to prevent media coverage from negatively affecting the case.
Attorneys
Mark M. O’Mara has been a fixture in the Central Florida legal community since 1982. While he started his career as a prosecutor for the State Attorney’s office in Seminole County, he crossed to the other side of the courtroom and has served as a defense attorney ever since.
Mark M. O’Mara
ATTORNEY
Bert W. Barclay, a Central Florida native, is a highly-experienced and respected family law and criminal defense attorney who has practiced in Central Florida for over 35 years.
Bert W. Barclay
ATTORNEY
Mark Rabinowitz focuses his practice on complex marital and family law issues including, alimony, child custody, equitable distribution, and prenuptial and post marital agreements involving athletes, doctors, lawyers and persons of high net worth.
Mark Rabinowitz
ATTORNEY
Staff
Susan Staggs
NALA Certified and Florida-Registered Paralegal
I am proud to say I have been part of the O’Mara Law Group legal team since 2008. I studied at Valencia and Seminole State Colleges and was on the President’s List. I have been a nationally Certified Paralegal since 2008 as well as Registered Paralegal with the State of Florida.
Susan Staggs
NALA Certified and Florida-Registered Paralegal
Brittany Staggs
Florida-Registered Paralegal
I am new to the O’Mara Law Group Team as of July 2021. I hold an Associates degree in Legal Studies, a bachelor’s degree in business and my Florida Registered Paralegal certification. I have worked as a family law paralegal for since 2012 and my goal is to bring comfort to clients while ensuring their concerns are protected and being vocalized during the legal process.
Brittany Staggs
Florida-Registered Paralegal
Anne ‘Annie’ Kunst
Administrative Assistant
Anne is the newest member of the O’Mara Law Group team. She relocated with her Husband from Chicago and has considered Orlando a second home town due to formative roots laid down here as a teenager and young adult. Annie wasted no time and hit the ground running, assisting where ever assistance is needed in our fast-paced firm.
Anne ‘Annie’ Kunst
Administrative Assistant
Sophia Marcano
LEGAL ASSISTANT
Sophia Marcano
Legal Assistant
Serving You When You Need It Most
O’Mara Law Group is a private law practice that takes pride in helping good people through difficult situations.
Divorce
It’s not just a family law case; it’s your life.
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Child Custody
Find out how our team may be able to assist with child custody issues.
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Criminal Defense
Find out how we can help you with your criminal case.
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Mass Torts
Contact us if you've been harmed by a defective drug or device.
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Trial Consultants
You never know exactly what it is going to take to win a case until you have won it — so there is no such thing as “over-preparing.”
Conducting a legal case is like running a race when you do not know where the finish line is. You just have to go faster and further than the other side. In most cases, you can go the distance on your own; however, when the stakes are high, the other side has deep pockets and a team with diverse talents and experience, it is time to even out the playing field. That is when hiring a larger team not only makes sense, it may be what is required to zealously advocate for the client.
Managing a trial team is a unique challenge, and a high-stakes trial is no place for on-the-job training.
Our trial team has been baptized by fire. Everyone knows their job, everyone knows the goal and everyone acts in concert to support the trial attorneys so they can be their best. We have all been in high-stakes, high-pressure courtroom situations when seconds count, and that is when we do some of our best work. There is no substitute for having a cohesive, experienced trial team backing you up when you present your case. If you do not have a full trial team ready to go, we would like to introduce you to ours.
What Our Clients Say
"Most know Mark O’’Mara for his exceptional criminal defense practice. My experience is with his family law practice which, in my opinion, is the best in the state. His legal team is exceptional, knowledgeable, accessible, and responsive to your needs. He has a creative approach to presenting your case, and his knowledge and skill ensures the law is applied as it should be. I’m glad we didn’t settle for less than what was right, or fair. And thanks to Mark and his team for ensuring a positive outcome!""
Kim Odom5-Star Google Review
"It’s hard to find the words to express how grateful we are to Mark, Susan, Alyssa and everyone at O’Mara Law Group. They are professionals who care about you. At the first meeting, Mr. O’Mara told us not to worry. That was his job. Their concern for us was genuine. We never doubted them and they never let us down."
Nancy Hedges5-Star Google Review
"Thank you for the countless conversations and authentic compassion. Mark O'Mara was so kind to tell me at our first meeting how I should no longer be worrying about the case, to let him and the team do the rest. He showed to be a true advocate for a just outcome. The O'Mara Group showed camaraderie with all parties involved, a true testament of the respect within the field and good moral character. I am forever grateful."
Katherine Cruz-Dieter5-Star Google Review
“Such a professional and personable firm. Everyone treated me with respect throughout my entire process. I absolutely dread ever needing the services of an attorney again but I would certainly go straight back to Mark. Susan was awesome and she totally got me from day one. I can’t begin to say how helpful that was for me. Thank you to the entire team!!"
Susan Dolan5-Star Google Review
“By far, the best person, if you ever need an attorney and someone who will always be there for you. I am truly proud to have Mark as my attorney, advisor and friend. Thanks Mark and Alyssa. Michael Hoffman, Attorney at Law and C.P.A."
Michael Hoffman5-Star Google Review
“O’Mara Law Group I would highly recommend Mark O’Mara to anyone seeking legal representation and will keep your best interest at the forefront. Should a situation arise, I would not hesitate to obtain representation from the O’Mara Law Group."
Mike Schwager 5-Star Google Review
Verdicts & Settlements
Speaking Engagements
Mark O’Mara is a dynamic and engaging speaker on matters related to the Criminal Justice System, Media Coverage of Justice Issues, Race and Justice, and Guns and Self-Defense. He frequently speaks to colleges and universities, conducts law seminars on Criminal Law matters, Family Law matters, and Trial Practice presentations, and presents at law enforcement conferences.
Below, you’ll find summaries of popular speaking topics:
Dynamic Jury Selection
Dynamic Jury Selection is the process we use, not just to pick a jury, but to prepare a jury specifically for the case at hand. It is built on a philosophy that a jury is not just an assemblage of individuals, but rather a cohesive unit prepared by the trial lawyer to perform a very important duty. A jury selected this way gives you a head start on presenting your case to a willing and attuned audience.
An indispensable part of dynamic jury selection is social media jury investigations. Many potential jurors reveal significant details about their lives online, and those details are often very helpful to a trial lawyer who wants to get the most out of every question.
In April 2014, the ABA issued Formal Opinion 466 in which they determined that social media investigation during jury selection is ethical — provided lawyers don’t make any attempt to contact or engage potential jurors online. We have found that social media investigations give lawyers more confidence in their decisions when selecting a jury. As a result, jury selections go faster, there are more substantiated cause strikes, and fewer peremptory strikes are wasted. Social media investigations are, however, labor intensive, and it requires a well-defined workflow to quickly identify actionable information and to deliver this information to the trial only when they need it. This presentation covers the benefits and pitfalls of social media jury selections and identifies best practices that all is to be practical and effective.
The Use of Social Media as an Integral Element of your Case
The Zimmerman case saw the first active use of social media by a defense team in a high-profile legal case. The decision to create an online presence for the defense (which consisted of a website, Twitter account, and a page on Facebook) was, at first, driven by the need to manage the intense media scrutiny. However, by the time of the verdict, the social media campaign had proven effective for managing the attorney’s reputation; avoiding crises; raising funds; selecting a jury; informing trial strategy; and, perhaps most importantly, distinguishing the complicated legal issues from the critical social issues surrounding the case: race, guns, and self-defense. We explore the decision to use social media, how we crafted our social media policy, and we’ll identify specific examples of how the social media campaign directly affected the case.
Managing the Media In High-profile Cases
Once the press takes an interest in a case, the rules change. Whether they’ll admit it or not — counselors and witnesses, judges, and juries behave differently when there are reporters sitting in the courtroom. This presentation explores the ethical considerations involved with the decision to address the press; it illustrates decisions every lawyer should contemplate while drafting a media policy; and it provides practical advice for any lawyer who is approached by the press.
The Zen of Zealous Advocacy
The term “zealous advocacy,” as Mark has come to regard it, is a composite of vigilance and creativity, of tenacity and balance. The Zen of Zealous advocacy is the constant awareness and exemplification of these qualities and the intuition required to keep these qualities in alignment. This presentation examines the most extraordinary legal issues we faced and explains what each issue taught us about the nature of zealous advocacy.
The Art of Cross Examination
This program focuses on the particularly important task of using cross examination to prove your case and to disprove the opponent’s. While there are hundreds of books and seminars on traditional cross, we start with the premise that, like the rest of your presentation at trial, cross examination has to fit in the context of your overall theme of the case. Cross must also be very issue or witness specific: there is no cross technique appropriate for all circumstances. We do identify some guidelines for knowing how and when to use ‘friendly’ cross and aggressive cross.
We also offer a program specific to excelling at cross examination of Expert Witnesses.
Susan Staggs
