News Releases

Mark P. Barnebey receives the Best Lawyers in America® 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” award in Land Use and Zoning Law in Sarasota metro area. 

Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year,” making this accolade particularly significant. Best Lawyers® in America is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal industry. For more than three decades, it has been regarded – by both the profession and the public – as the most credible measure of legal integrity and distinction in the United States. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded as a significant honor conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers. The lists of outstanding attorneys are compiled by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers.

Mark  is Board Certified in City, County and Local Government Law and has practiced in land use and local government law for the past thirty-five years. Mark also leads the firm’s land use and local government practice groups. Mark serves the Manatee/Sarasota area from Palmetto and Bradenton to Sarasota and North Port.

Mark has successfully represented clients regarding a wide variety of development projects including multi-use projects, an arena, and a power plant. He served as the senior land use attorney for Manatee County for 13 years and as School Board Attorney or special counsel for another 12 years. He has served as City Attorney for the City of Palmetto for the past 10 years, and counsel for several special districts and agencies. He also has served as a mediator, special magistrate and hearing officer for various governmental entities on purchasing, land use, and other government aspects.

Among his lecture presentations, he has spoken on land use at all twenty-seven (27) City, County and Local Government Law certification review courses and in the first Florida Bar live simulcast seminar, speaking on the topic of quasi-judicial proceedings. He received the Paul S. Buchman Award for outstanding contributions to local government law from the City, County and Local Government Law Section and was awarded the George W. Simons, Jr. Award by the Florida Planning and Zoning Association for contributions to planning and land use for the State of Florida. He received the 2011 Community Service Award from the Manatee County Bar Association for his record of service to the community

Honors include:

• AV Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
• Selected for inclusion in Florida Super Lawyers (2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019)
• Named Land Use and Zoning Law “Lawyer of the Year’ by The Best Lawyers in America© (2023)
• Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
• Florida Trend, Legal Elite (2012)
• Ralph A. Marsciano Award from the City, County, Local Government Section, The Florida Bar (2012)
• Outstanding Community Service Leader, Manatee County Bar Association (2011)
• George W. Simons, Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Planning and Zoning in the State of Florida, Florida Planning and Zoning Association (2010)
• Selected for inclusion in 2011 Florida Super Lawyers
• Paul S. Buchman Award for outstanding contributions to local government law from the City, County and Local Government Section,The Florida Bar (2004)
• American Planning Association, Palmetto Elementary Complex Project of Merit (2011)
• Florida Planning and Zoning, Palmetto Elementary Complex Outstanding Public/Private Project (2011)
• Contribution to Promoting Professionalism and Ethics, The Florida Bar (2001)
• Outstanding Contributions to the Section, The Florida Bar, Local Government Law Section (1994)
• Outstanding Contributions in the Area of Legal Writing, Local Government Law Section, The Florida Bar (1992)
• Who’s Who in American Law
• Who’s Who in America