Mark Fleming > WilmerHale > Boston, United States > Lawyer Profile

WilmerHale
60 STATE STREET
BOSTON, MA 02109
MASSACHUSETTS
United States

Work Department

Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation; Intellectual Property Litigation; Government and Regulatory Litigation; International Arbitration; Litigation; Administrative Law; Education; Life Sciences; Trials

Position

Partner

Vice Chair, Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation Practice

Career

Mark Fleming is vice chair of WilmerHale’s Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation Practice. He is an accomplished and well-regarded litigator who has appeared in more than 250 appellate cases and personally presented oral argument in 56 of them. Of those cases, seven were before the Supreme Court of the United States and 23 were before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has also argued before the First, Second, Third, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and District of Columbia Circuits, and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court.

A former US Supreme Court clerk, Mr. Fleming has filed briefs in more than 50 US Supreme Court cases on topics such as patent law, immigration, criminal law and constitutional law. Mr. Fleming argues frequently in the Federal Circuit in patent cases involving various technologies and legal issues. In November 2019, he argued three complex Federal Circuit appeals for different clients in a single week. And in June 2022, he won vacatur of the largest patent infringement judgment in history, which caused Litigation Daily to recognize him as “Litigator of the Week.”

Mr. Fleming’s broad-based appellate experience covers numerous subject areas, ranging from patent law, securities and complex business disputes to real estate, antitrust and tax. His clients include leading companies in the fields of medical devices, life sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals, as well as high-technology industries including semiconductors, smartphones, online storage and processing, and connectivity. He also maintains an active pro bono practice, particularly in matters involving immigration law, where he has argued and won several high-profile Supreme Court cases.

Mr. Fleming previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable David H. Souter of the Supreme Court, the Honorable Michael Boudin of the First Circuit, and the Honorable John C. Major of the Supreme Court of Canada. Mr. Fleming also served as an associate legal officer in the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Professional Activities
– Fellow and Board Member, American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
– Member, American Law Institute
– Member, International Association of Defense Counsel
– Member, Massachusetts Joint Bar Committee
– Advisory Board Member, South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston
– Advisor, American Law Institute for Restatement of the Law Third, Conflict of  Laws Project

Memberships

Bar Admissions:
Massachusetts

Other Organizations:
Boston Bar Association

Education

Harvard Law School , J.D. (1997)
The King’s University College , B.A. (1994)

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)

(Leading lawyers)

Mark FlemingWilmerHale

An appellate powerhouse, WilmerHale presented twenty-seven oral arguments in the first six months of 2023, including two before the US Supreme Court. The group routinely appears before appellate courts across the country, with particularly vast experience in the Federal Circuit, as well as in the Ninth, Fourth and First Circuits. Equipped to advise on appeals spanning the full spread of industries and legal spheres, the team has recently led cases dealing with issues as diverse as trade secrets, the Anti-Terrorism Act, First Amendment rights, and voting rights, among others. Former US Solicitor General Seth Waxman co-chairs the practice and is widely considered a dean of the appellate bar; he recently paired up with with Ari Holtzblatt to secure a 9-0 SCOTUS victory on behalf of Twitter in a case unanimously reversing a Ninth Circuit decision concerning the liability of social media platforms for acts of terrorism. Boston-based department co-chair Mark Fleming has argued 62 appellate cases, including eight SCOTUS appeals, and is highly regarded for his record in patent cases before the Federal Circuit. The deep bench also includes practice vice-chair Catherine Carroll, who has argued four SCOTUS cases; fellow vice-chair Daniel Volchok, who has niche expertise in Native American law; Thomas Saunders, who specializes in IP appeals; and New York-based Alan Schoenfeld. Named attorneys are based in Washington DC unless stated otherwise.