Meet Mark C. Gugino
I was born in Tonawanda, New York in 1962 where my dad was a principal at a local school. My father was from Fredonia, New York and my mother was from Clayton, New York. My grandparents on my fathers side were from Sicily and both with the last name of Gugino.
My grandfather on my mothers side was from Clayton, New York and a Marshall while my grandmother was from Germany and a Schmidbauer. My Clayton Grandparents owned the Maranna Motel on Alexandria Street.
Shortly after my birth we moved to Cincinnatus New York where my father was then again a principal. Shortly, thereafter we moved to Geneva, New York where my father was principal of West Street School and my mother was Registered Nurse at Geneva General Hospital. I attended all of my grade school education in Geneva graduating in 1980 from Geneva High School where I was in the band, did competitive swimming and played competitive volleyball. My father died from Cancer in 1972 when I was 10.
After High School I attended Potsdam State University where I majored in Economics and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1984. While at Potsdam I joined the Phi Kappa Sigma International Fraternity and continue to keep strong ties with my brothers from our Chapter which was the Beta Upsilon Chapter.
After college I worked for a while in the business world and then decided to go back to graduate school for higher education administration and attended and graduated with a Master of Science from Syracuse University in 1988. After graduate school I again worked in my field for a year but then decided to transfer my skills and worked in the hospital administration field until leaving to attend law school.
In 1992, I left the northeastern United States and traveled to the midwest (Lansing, Michigan) where I attended the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. In 1995, I graduated from law school and sat for and passed the New York and the Illinois State Bars. I currently work in Spencer, New York where I am building my own office which is in a tinyhouse.
I also work with and for my wife in her Weatherization Business, "Act Green Be Green Spray Foam Insulation, Inc.", which is a Woman Owned Business, a Building Performance Institute Goldstar Contractor and NYSERDA certified business. I act as corporate counsel for this business and do a lot of business law for contractors and businesspeople.
Besides doing law, I enjoy building tinyhouses and helping my wife in the weatherization and basically learning all about that industry. Another one of my hobbies is designing and building houses (I am presently building my own house in Cape Vincent, New York which is in the 1000 Islands Region of New York). I am also becoming Solar PV and Solar Hot Water certified so I can install these systems in my tinyhouses or small buildings I build.
In my law practice, I hire and work with a number of very talented individuals to help me get your legal work done. We offer quality legal services at an affordable rate because we know that just plain living today is a challenge without having an extra cost like an expensive legal bill. On some occasions we will complete a case pro bono, charge our fees on a sliding scale and sometimes barter our services if people have no money but have a skill we need (so always ask).
One thing you’ll almost never see me in is a tie, I am a down to earth hometown guy who enjoys going to work in jeans or shorts in the summer and only when I am in court do I dress up in a tie (I always take my dog with me too). I guess you can say I’m a nuts and bolts kind of guy who likes to get my hands dirty and stay in the trenches. I consider myself a blue collar worker with a law degree where I can help people get the things they need done at an affordable price.
I also believe in family a lot as my family is number one in the world to me. My wife is a Registered Nurse and a Hospital Administrator. We have two small boys ages three and five and I love watching them play in the creek behind our house, because it reminds me of when I was little. I start work late in the day because I either have to get my kids to school or to daycare. I love to cook them breakfast and play on the Ipad with them.
Everything I do or aspire to do in my life is from past experiences I have had or people I have met and I love living in the country hopefully someday 100% off the grid. Lastly, I believe that country life is a lot better than city life and that "eggs are always cheaper in the country."
