Mark Skerry > Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
115 F STREET, N.W
WASHINGTON D.C. 20004
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
Mark Skerry photo

Work Department

Litigation

Position

A Partner in Simpson Thacher’s National Security Regulatory Practice, Mark advises on significant cross-border transactions undergoing national security reviews before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and coordinates analogous foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals globally. He advises some of the world’s most well-known private equity firms, multinational corporations, and institutional investors across a variety of industries considered sensitive to national security such as aerospace and defense, semiconductors, telecommunications, sea and airports, energy generation, financial services, technology and social media, and life sciences, among others. Mark has significant experience negotiating commercially acceptable mitigation and responding to non-notified inquiries.

Career

Joined the Firm in 2016; became Partner in 2023. Former Law Clerk, Hon. Reggie B. Walton, United States District Judge for the District of Columbia. Former Honors Attorney, Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Education

J.D., magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, Case Western Reserve University; and B.Sc., Cornell University

Lawyer Rankings

United States > International trade > CFIUS

(Next Generation Partners)

Mark SkerrySimpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

A destination practice for acquisitional private equity clients, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP represents some of the world’s largest asset managers in CFIUS matters such as Blackstone, KKR and Carlyle. The group, which scores highly for its ‘understanding of not only CFIUS but FDI regimes around the world’, also acts for multinational corporations, investors and sovereign wealth funds on high-stakes reviews. Its breadth of industry expertise is equally comprehensive and spans some of the market’s most sensitive business segments, including technology, energy, infrastructure, defense and aerospace. Highlighted as ‘one of the CFIUS bar’s senior leaders’, Malcolm (Mick) Tuesley heads the national security regulatory practice; he recently obtained CFIUS approval for Australia-headquartered IFM Investors in connection with its $11bn take-private, together with DigitalBridge Group, of US data center company, Switch. Promoted to partner in early 2023, Mark Skerry is already noted for his ‘dynamic understanding of the subject matter’. Among his recent highlights, Skerry led the national security advice to a consortium of investors—led by Blackstone and including sovereign wealth funds, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and GIC—in the $14bn acquisition of a majority stake in the Climate Technologies business of Emerson Electric. The Washington DC-based team also includes talented associate Jennifer Ho.