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Mark H. Churchill is a trial partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP based in the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office.
As a member of the Trial Department, Mark’s diverse litigation practice has exposed him to all phases of complex civil and criminal litigation. Mark has assumed primary witness responsibility and conducted direct and cross-examination in bench and jury trials at the federal, state, and administrative levels. Mark also has significant experience briefing and presenting oral argument on all manner of litigation issues, from discovery through trial and appeal.
Particular client representations of Mark’s are highlighted below, but his capabilities as a general trial practitioner are also exemplified by the wide array of matters he has handled. They include: antitrust, civil fraud, class action defense, energy, export compliance and control, government contracts, health care fraud (including False Claims Act litigation), intellectual property (including patent infringement, trademark, and copyright), securities, tax, trade secret, and white-collar crime matters.
Representative Experience:
Successfully prosecuted and defended civil fraud allegations for a number of Firm clients. Most recently, authored the victorious summary judgment briefs in a federal district court case concerning disputed licenses for spinal implant technology, thereby defeating a claim in excess of forty-three million dollars for fraudulent inducement to contract.
Represented individuals and companies in the area of tax shelter litigation. Has defended a number of Firm clients against civil litigation claims throughout the country and also has represented individual taxpayers against the United States in tax refund litigation.
Assisted the Firm’s Energy Services Group in representing clients involved in litigation disputes concerning power purchase and sales contracts. Mark has substantial litigation experience both in federal district court and before administrative law judges at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Counsels clients seeking to assess their litigation risk. Among other significant representations, Mark helped conduct the internal investigation of a multi-billion dollar global engineering and manufacturing company following whistleblower allegations of export compliance and control violations.
Assists the risk arbitrage work done by the Firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group through the assessment of filed and threatened litigation related to pending mergers and acquisitions. Most recently, Mark advised a number of the Firm’s investment industry clients concerning litigation risks related to the merger of Sprint Corporation and Nextel Communications.
Maintains a steady presence in the Firm’s pro bono work. Among other matters, Mark helped litigate a prisoner’s Civil Rights Act claim against Illinois State prison employees; conducted a six-day bench trial in D.C. Superior Court for a client contesting custody and defending against abuse and neglect charges; and managed an appeal from the Merit Systems Protection Board to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland concerning alleged violations by the United States government of the Rehabilitation Act and the Family Medical Leave Act. Most recently, Mark filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center with the Court of Appeals of Maryland in Lawson v. Maryland, focusing on the State’s evidentiary rules governing statements of rape by child victims of sexual assault and abuse.
Following law school, Mark clerked for the Honorable James P. Jones of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
While a student at the University of Virginia School of Law, Mark was selected Chief Justice of the William Minor Lile Moot Court Board. Mark also participated as a third-year law student in the Law School’s criminal prosecution clinic, serving both semesters as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in the Rockingham County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Education:
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1998
Duke University, A.B., 1993 | 