Mark is a Member in Mintz Levin's Washington, D.C. office, in the firm's Corporate & Securities Section. He is also a member of the firm's Energy & Clean Technology Practice, which serves more than 300 clients. Since 2006, the firm's Energy & Clean Technology Practice has completed more than 250 transactions in this sector totaling over $3.5 billion. The Energy & Clean Technology Practice has been ranked #2 nationally among top Clean Technology law firms, according to Watershed Capital Group, and in 2011 the practice was listed as a "Best Law Firm" by U.S. News & World Report, both in Boston and nationally. Mark focuses on the representation of renewable and conventional energy, clean technology, communications, infrastructure, environmental, and investment fund clients. Mark has the honor of an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell and he recently was named one of the Top 100 Bioenergy Leaders in the world by Biofuels Digest.
In his more than 35 years of practice, Mark has represented clients in domestic and international matters, including energy and infrastructure, project development and debt and equity financing contracts, mergers and acquisitions, technology outsourcing, investment fund structuring, venture capital structuring, and regulatory and legislative issues. He also has represented clients in international disputes before U.S. and foreign agencies, dealing with matters such as anti-dumping, export controls, sanctions, and anti-bribery. Before joining Mintz Levin, Mark was a partner at another prominent national law firm, where he led practice groups focusing on renewable energy, climate and India/South Asia.
Mark has counseled renewable and conventional energy and infrastructure clients doing business in 50 countries including Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, the Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mauritius Islands, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
Recently, Mark has:
· Represented several U.S. and foreign energy companies in the procurement of six U.S. Department of Agriculture conditional loan guarantees and one closing for integrated advanced biofuel refineries, including biopower plants.
· Represented a public U.S. biopower company in the acquisition of 1.5 MW and 18 MW biomass-to-power facilities in India.
· Represented multiple major U.S. and European energy companies in renewable power and advanced biofuels and energy loan guarantee transactions before the USDA and DOE.
· Represented a small U.S. water treatment company in the donation and installation of five solar-powered water treatment units in Haitian hospitals as part of the Haiti Earthquake Relief Effort.
· Represented a U.S. solar corporation in the development, finance, construction, operation, and maintenance of a 100MW solar power project in India.
· Represented a U.S. geothermal corporation in the development, finance, construction, operation, and maintenance of geothermal power projects in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Chile, and the States of Texas and California.
· Represented a major U.S. agricultural processing company in multiple transactions involving the purchase, dehydration, and sale of fuel ethanol between Latin America and the United States.
· Represented two major U.S. and European funds in their Series A equity investment into a Mauritius hydroelectric holding company for further investments into multiple Indian hydroelectric projects.
· Represented two major U.S. real estate firms and a Mauritius investment fund in their Series A investment into an Indian real estate development company for the development and construction of an integrated residential and IT township.
· Represented a U.S. oil trading company in the manufacture of 5,125 solar-powered water purification units for installation in India, Greece, and various countries in Africa and Latin America.
· Represented a U.S. venture capital in the acquisition, finance, and conversion of a vegetable oil processing plant into a 50 million gallon per year biodiesel manufacturing facility in India-the first financial closing of a biodiesel project in India.
· Represented a major Indian private equity company in its investment into a 30 million gallon per year biodiesel facility in India-the second financial closing of a biodiesel project in India.
Mark is the founder and general counsel of the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE), the largest domestic and international association of renewable energy and clean tech businesses. Mark has also served as general counsel and a longtime board member (currently board member emeritus) for the US-India Business Council, the largest U.S.-India business association. He is the general counsel of several additional major energy and international trade associations. Mark is Vice Chairman of the American Bar Association's Project Finance Committee.
Recent presentations:
"Renewable Energy Project Finance in the U.S.: 2010-2013 Overview and Future Outlook" (March 2012)
"Financing Advanced Biofuels Integrated Biorefineries Including Attached Biomass-to-Power Operations," Municipal Solid Waste to Biofuels Summit 2012 (February 2012)
"Financing Advanced Biofuels Integrated Biorefinereies Including Attached Biomass-to-Power Operations," The Waste Conversion Congress West Coast (December 2011)
"Challenges in Financing Renewable Energy Projects in India," Private Equity: Challenges To Investing Into The Indian Opportunity (October 2011)
"Challenges in Financing Renewable Energy Projects in India," RETECH 2011 (September 2011)
"Challenges in Financing Renewable Energy Projects in India," Columbia-TNIE Clean Energy Summit (August 2011)
"Perspectives on Developing Renewable Energy in Latin America," LAC-CORE Renewable Energy Finance Briefing (June 2011)
"Investors Perspectives" Renewable Energy Finance Forum-Latin America & Caribbean (February 2011)
"Challenges in Financing Renewable Energy Projects in India" ACORE Renewable Energy in America National Policy Forum (December 2010)
"Financing Biomass-to-Power and Advanced Biofuels" ACORE Renewable Energy in America National Policy Forum (December 2010)
"Financing Biomass-to-Power and Advanced Biofuels" (October and November 2010)
"Barriers to Financing Indian Renewable Energy" (May 2010)
"Defining Biomass: A Comparison Of Definitions In Legislation" (February 2010)
"U.S. Incentives to Promote Renewable Energy" (November 2009)
"Barriers to Financing Indian Renewable Energy" (October 2008)
"International Opportunities in Water Investment in India" (October 2008)
"The Challenges of Biofuels Finance" (October 2008)
"Public Procurement Around the World: An Introduction to Public Procurement Outside the United States" (August 2008)
"Structuring International Operations and Deals: Tax-Effective Structuring of Investments in India, Mauritius, Singapore, Cyprus, Dubai, Brazil, the USA and Malta" (March 2008)
"Hot Topics in Biodiesel: Renewable Diesel Versus Biodiesel" (May 2008)
Recent publications:
"Renewable Energy Project Finance in the U.S.: 2010-2013 Overview and Future Outlook" (January 2012)
"USDA Biofuels Loan Guarantee Program Interim Final Rule Gives Program Added Boost" (May 2011)
"USDA 9003 Advanced Biofuel/Bioproduct Loan Guarantee Program Interim Final Rule & FY2011 NOFA" (March 2011)
"Regardless of Constraints, Many See Good Setting for Biomass Ventures," Natural Gas & Electricity Journal (November 2010)
"Renewable Energy Project Finance in the U.S.: An Overview and Midterm Outlook" (November 2010)
"Renewable Diesel Programs Flourishing in New Price Environment," Natural Gas & Electricity Journal (September 2008)
"Structuring International Operations and Deals: Tax Effective Structuring of Investments in India," Natural Gas & Electricity Journal (November 1, 2005)
"Project Finance-Current Trends and Innovative Transactional Structures in India," Natural Gas & Electricity Journal (March 17, 2005)
"Strategies for Trade and Investment in India," Natural Gas & Electricity Journal (November 9, 2004)
"Coalition Provisional Authority Issues Order 43 Creating the New Iraqi Dinar Banknotes," Natural Gas & Electricity Journal (February 12, 2004)
Mark is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, and before the D.C. Court of Appeals; the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit; U.S. District Court, District of Columbia; U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit; the U.S. Court of International Trade; the U.S. Court of Claims; and the U.S. Tax Court. He received his B.A., summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Michigan (1975) and his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center (1979).
Industries
Energy & Clean Technology
Project Finance
Energy & Clean Technology Project Finance