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Inside the practice of Mark Cord, the Scottsdale attorney who has spent 53 years on family law — including years on the other side of the bench as a city judge and Superior Court Judge Pro Tem — and still handles every file himself.
Mark Cord — At a Glance
| ATTORNEY | Mark Cord |
| FIRM | Law Office of Mark Cord (sole practitioner) |
| ADMITTED | Arizona, 1972 (53 years in practice) |
| EDUCATION | University of Illinois (J.D.) |
| CERTIFICATION | State Bar of Arizona Board-Certified Specialist in Family Law — one of roughly 65 attorneys statewide to hold it |
| JUDICIAL BACKGROUND | Former Scottsdale City Judge and Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Pro Tempore |
| CASELOAD | More than 1,500 cases over his career, per his own materials |
| OFFICE | 8170 N. 86th Place, Suite 204, Scottsdale, AZ 85258 |
| CONTACT | (480) 994-0345 · mcordlaw.com |
Origin: Five Decades, Including Time on the Bench
Mark Cord earned his J.D. from the University of Illinois and was admitted to the Arizona Bar in 1972. Over more than five decades of practice, he has also served as a Scottsdale City Judge and as a Judge Pro Tempore for the Maricopa County Superior Court — judicial experience his own materials describe as giving him perspective “from both sides of the bench” that now informs how he negotiates settlements and prepares cases for clients.
Practice Areas
Cord’s practice covers divorce (including high-net-worth divorce and complex property division involving businesses, real estate, and stock options), child custody and legal decision-making, paternity, spousal maintenance and alimony, separation agreements, out-of-state custody proceedings, domestic partnerships, and parental relocation (“move-away”) cases. As a sole practitioner, he takes every case personally rather than assigning files to associates.
Track Record
Arizona family court outcomes are generally confidential, so there’s no public settlement or verdict table to cite. Cord’s own materials cite more than 1,500 cases handled across his career, with roughly even weighting between divorce/separation matters and child custody matters.
Note: Past results, where applicable, do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future matter.
Client Voice
Cord holds a 5.0 rating across 14 Avvo reviews. One client described him and his paralegal as “beyond phenomenal,” specifically crediting his judicial background with helping him understand how to present a case effectively, while calling him kind and personable. Another reviewer specifically praised his ethics, saying they would strongly recommend him for any family law matter.
Community
Cord authored “Divorce With(Out) Dignity, A Divorce Lawyer’s View” (2011), and has been recognized as a Top Lawyer in the Phoenix area by North Valley Magazine. His judicial service — both as a Scottsdale City Judge and as a Superior Court Judge Pro Tempore — reflects a sustained public-service contribution beyond his private caseload.
Recognition
Cord holds Arizona’s Board-Certified Family Law Specialist designation — one of only about 65 attorneys statewide, per his own materials, and a genuine, examination-based credential requiring evaluation by judges and opposing counsel. He is AV Preeminent-rated by Martindale-Hubbell (peer review) and is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers in both Family Law and Personal Injury.
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.
Arizona divorce and legal separation proceed under A.R.S. § 25-312. Custody and parenting time decisions turn on the best-interests factors in A.R.S. § 25-403. Child support follows the state’s guidelines under A.R.S. § 25-320, and spousal maintenance is governed by A.R.S. § 25-319. Arizona is a community property state, with a presumption of equal division under A.R.S. § 25-211. Parental relocation cases, a specific area of Cord’s practice, are governed by additional notice and best-interests provisions within A.R.S. § 25-403 et seq.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
Cord’s genuine strength is a rare vantage point: more than five decades in family law, including direct judicial experience that few practicing family law attorneys share, combined with a hands-on, no-associates approach to every case.
The honest caveat: as a sole practitioner in his sixth decade of practice, capacity is inherently limited to what one attorney can personally handle — clients anticipating a long, multi-year matter should ask directly about continuity planning, and those needing a larger team for a document-intensive case may need a bigger firm.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from mcordlaw.com (firm site, attorney bio, practice pages), Super Lawyers, Martindale, Avvo, and Yelp. The Law Office of Mark Cord did not commission, review, or pay for this profile.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
This profile is an independent editorial article published by Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any lawyer or law firm profiled on this site, and inclusion in this series is not paid placement.