Mark Elliott Plotkin

Mark E. Plotkin is a partner of Covington & Burling LLP and co-chair of  the firm's cross-border investment and national security practice.  He joined the firm in 1987 and is resident in the Washington, D.C. office.  He specializes in representing clients before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and other branches of the U.S. government.  Mr. Plotkin has handled leading transactions in virtually every sector subject to CFIUS review, including aerospace and defense, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, finance, information technology, social media and transportation infrastructure.

Mr. Plotkin is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center where he has taught a course on national security law since 2008.  He previously taught American government at Harvard College.  Mr. Plotkin served as co-editor and co-author of the treatises Regulation of Foreign Banks and Affiliates in the United States (6th ed.) and E-Commerce Law and Business.  He has testified before Congress, Congressional and federal regulatory commissions, the Uniform Law Commission, and other bodies.  He is a former governor of the Yale Alumni Association and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Mr. Plotkin has long been top-ranked by Chambers USA and Chambers Global for his expertise in handling complex cross-border mergers, acquisitions and investments.  The American Lawyer has twice honored Mr. Plotkin -- in 2016 and 2019 -- as "Dealmaker of the Year."  The National Law Journal recognized him as a Regulatory and Compliance Trailblazer.  He has been named an “International Trade MVP” by Law360 on three separate occasions. 

He received a B.A. from Yale University in 1983 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1987.