Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

A partner in the Litigation Department, Mark H. Alcott has extensive experience handling a wide range of major cases, in both state and federal courts in New York and throughout the United States as well as abroad.

Mr. Alcott's litigation experience includes:

• serving as lead counsel for the grain industry in the numerous antitrust class actions alleging price-fixing in the sale of American wheat to Russia;

• representing several lead defendants in the complex class, individual, transnational and regulatory litigations stemming from the silver market collapse;

• defending one of the country's biggest producers in the massive broiler chicken antitrust class actions;

• representing the selling shareholder in the multiple securities and fraudulent conveyance actions resulting from the leveraged buyout of a major international corporation;

• defending a large, nationally known law firm in significant litigation brought against it by the FDIC after the collapse of its banking client;

• representing a major oil company in challenging zoning legislation that outlawed its large petroleum off-loading facility;

• representing a member of one of America's wealthiest families in one of the largest equitable distribution cases ever tried;

• defending the New York State Comptroller in constitutional litigation against the Governor;

• representing the New York Legislature in reapportionment litigation;

• representing a major party presidential candidate in election law litigation; and

• playing a principal role in mass tort cases, including the explosions of the world's largest grain elevator in Louisiana and a Japanese-owned petrochemical plant in Puerto Rico.

Mr. Alcott has frequently been honored by his peers for his litigation skills. He was elected a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, on the basis of intensive peer review. He later served for two terms as chair of the Downstate New York Committee of the College and four terms as chair of the College's International Committee. He is cited for excellence in litigation in Guide to the World's Leading Litigation Lawyers, Guide to the Leading U.S. Litigation Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, and the Benchmark Litigation guide, all on the basis of peer review.

A leader in professional circles, Mr. Alcott recently served as President of the New York State Bar Association. As such, he was a national spokesman for the profession, leading the fight for independence and diversity of the bench and the bar, and against discrimination in the profession. Previously, he served as chair of the New York State Bar Association's Commercial and Federal Litigation Section. He chaired the Section's task force which proposed the creation of a statewide commercial court, and then served on the committee established by Chief Judge Judith Kaye to implement that proposal. His efforts led directly to the creation of the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court. He is a member of the Commercial Division Advisory Committee, designated by the Chief Administrative Judge. Mr. Alcott serves on the Executive Committee of the International Law and Practice Section of the New York State Bar Association and is an honorary overseas member of the Commercial Bar Association of London. He has chaired numerous other major professional committees and groups. Mr. Alcott has been active in civic and philanthropic affairs. He is the winner of the American ORT Jurisprudence Award "for his lifetime commitment and distinguished service to the legal profession," and of NYSBA's Haig award for distinguished public service.

Mr. Alcott also has broad expertise in arbitration, negotiation, mediation and alternative dispute resolution. He has represented major clients in substantial domestic and international arbitration and mediation proceedings, and has served as lead counsel in ICC, AAA and NASD matters in the United States and abroad. By designation of the chief judge of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, he has served for many years as a federal mediator pursuant to that court's Mandatory Mediation Program. He is also a mediator in the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court. He is a special master in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, First Department, by designation of the presiding justice; a special master in the Supreme Court, New York County, Commercial Division, by designation of the administrative judge; and an arbitrator in the Civil Court. He was selected by Mondaq for listing in its Guide to the World's Leading Arbitration Advisors and by Euromoney for listing in its Guide to the World's Leading Experts in Commercial Arbitration, both on the basis of extensive peer review.

Mr. Alcott has written and lectured extensively, in the United States and abroad, on litigation issues. He is frequently invited to argue model cases at legal conventions and meetings.

Areas of Practice

• Litigation

West Practice Categories

Litigation & Appeals

Bar Admissions

• New York, 1965
• District of Columbia, 1984
• U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1966
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 1966
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1982
• U.S. Tax Court, 1985
• U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit

Professional Associations and Memberships

• The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 1970 - 1973 (Member, Federal Legislation Committee)
• New York State Bar Association, 1989 - Present (Chairman, International Litigation Committee)
• New York State Bar Association, Member, Executive Committee, 1989 - Present (Commercial and Federal Litigation Section)
• American Bar Association (Member, Litigation Section)

Honors and Awards

• American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow

Education

• Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1964
  J.D.
  Honors: cum laude
• Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1961
  B.A., Bachelor of Arts
  Honors: cum laude

Published Works

• Foreign Investment Disputes: A Practitioner's Roadmap, December, 2005

Address

1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019-6064

Phones

(212) 373-3179

Faxes

(212) 492-0179

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.paulweiss.com