Member, Jackson Kelly PLLC
Photo by Dale Sparks
By Kristen Uppercue
Mark Imbrogno, a member at Jackson Kelly PLLC, grew up in St. Albans and Charleston with his mother, Rose, and little sister, Jamie. His mother owned a children’s clothing consignment shop, where he worked when he was younger. Growing up, he spent a lot of time playing outdoors and hanging out with family.
“Before high school, I always wanted to be a dentist or orthodontist, but by the time I was in high school, it was somewhere between wanting to be a musician—not realistic given my skill level—or involved in government or politics,” Imbrogno says.
He attended public school as a child before switching to Charleston Catholic for middle and high school, where he was elected class president. Imbrogno received his undergraduate degree in marketing at the University of Kentucky five years before attending the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law, where he graduated summa cum laude in 2011.
“I always enjoyed the dialogue and different perspectives you’d get from all the different experiences folks had coming into law school,” Imbrogno says. “I really enjoyed learning so many different areas of law. It was like opening your eyes to another layer of the world around us.”
He spent two summers during law school working as an associate at Jackson Kelly, where he says he was fortunate to be exposed to different practice areas and work with great lawyers who were willing to take the time to work with him and help him develop as a lawyer.
Following graduation, he continued working at Jackson Kelly before leaving to serve as counsel to the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Economic Development Committee in the West Virginia Senate for the 2012 and 2013 legislative sessions. He served as deputy general counsel in the West Virginia Governor’s Office for two years before he began his role as a senior associate general counsel at West Virginia University in 2016.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how much I learned in each of these roles outside of private practice,” Imbrogno says. “It has been beyond memorable getting to peek behind the curtain and be a part of making these institutions run and seeing up close and personal the sausage-making process.”
In 2018, Imbrogno returned to Jackson Kelly where he currently serves as a member. He works primarily in public finance, including project development and finance for a variety of governmental and public, economic development, health care, education and utility projects. Many of these projects involve the creation of tax-exempt bonds, or debt securities for which the owner does not have to pay income tax for the interest earned thereon.
“I kind of just fell into the practice area,” Imbrogno says. “When I went to law school, I fully intended to be a litigator, but I had a friend who worked in the practice area who got me involved because he thought it was an area I would find interesting.”
His favorite thing about this position is the variety of projects he works on, as well as working through their various challenges and complications.
“It’s really fun to undertake new projects that are for novel things like a new type of financing or preparing legislation and getting to work on projects that involve the new legislation.”
One of the more challenging aspects of Imbrogno’s position is having to frequently navigate new territory, including projects that involve subject matter or organizations and structures he is unfamiliar with.
“I think being able to navigate these things has given me more confidence in embracing new challenges and projects,” he says. “It has helped me appreciate that you definitely don’t know everything, and even more importantly, you don’t know what you don’t know. Be willing to acknowledge that and lean on the others around you.”
Imbrogno is proud to see the impact of his work in communities in West Virginia, including job creation through economic development, access to clean water and sewer systems and the opening of new schools, public safety facilities and roads. Seeing the impact of his work and the results the firm has been able to accomplish for the state is what inspires him to keep going.
“I feel lucky that my practice area lends itself toward being involved in the community,” he says. “In part from being a lawyer, I have a desire to be involved in the community and set an example for others, help others resolve issues and solve problems and help others advance and grow in both being a productive member of the community as well as achieving their own goals.”
Imbrogno does this by spending time mentoring others, especially young lawyers and those looking to advance their careers inside and outside the firm.
“I’ve had the privilege of receiving so much great advice, guidance and connections from others that has helped me get to where I am, so the least I can do is try to do the same for others,” he says.
Some of those who made an impact in his transition from undergrad to law school include Dr. Tim Spears, Troy Giatras and Mike and Cheri Callaghan. Since becoming a lawyer, Imbrogno credits a few people in particular at Jackson Kelly that helped him develop into a lawyer, including Samme Gee and Taunja Willis-Miller.
One of Imbrogno’s favorite projects of his career was when his firm developed the structure and framework for the Morgantown Area Partnership (MAP), an alliance of business, government, nonprofit and quasi-governmental partners focusing on the betterment of economic, business and community development in the Greater Morgantown Area.
Imbrogno’s work in creating the partnership was pro bono. He has served as a board member for five years, previously serving on the executive committee for four years and chairman of the board for two years.
It was such a wonderful project given the results that have been achieved from the collaboration and efficiencies created among the organizations that comprise MAP,” Imbrogno says.
Imbrogno is also a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers and a member of the National Inns of Court.
“It’s important for me to give back because I want to help make our community a better place by participating in things that will hopefully create new opportunities for folks and help grow the community while also giving to causes that are helping people in our own community,” he says.
Imbrogno currently resides with his wife, two daughters and two goldendoodles in Morgantown and loves the energy and liveliness of the community. He enjoys listening to music and going to concerts, as well as reading nonfiction, spending time outdoors and making homemade pizza with his family in their pizza oven.
“I choose to live and work in West Virginia because I love it,” Imbrogno says. “It’s where I grew up and have spent most of my life. There is something about it that you miss when you’re away—whether it’s the hills, the beauty of the outdoors or the people.”
