Mark B. Arthur was born and reared in Bedford County. After graduating from Jefferson Forest High School, he served in the United States Army's 82nd Airborne Division for four years. He graduated from the University of Virginia with distinction in 1992. After a short time working in his father's business, he attended the University of Virginia School of Law and received his law degree in 1998. Mark passed the Virginia Bar later that year. He practiced law as a Prosecutor for the City of Lynchburg for four years. While there, he spearheaded Project Exile in the Lynchburg area. After leaving the Prosecutor's office in 2002, he went into private practice with the law firm of Fralin, Feinman, Coates and Kinnier, P.C. specializing in criminal defense and family law. In 2006, Mark Arthur established the firm of Mark B. Arthur, PC, located in downtown Lynchburg where he now practices. He is on the board of the Lynchburg Bar Association, a member of the Virginia Bar Association, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the American Bar Association. Mark and his wife, Hume Hoskins Arthur, are the parents of three children and make their home in Lynchburg.