Education

  • State University of New York at Albany, B.A. economics summa cum laude
  • University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., The Order of the Coif, Virginia Law Review

Admissions

  • California
  • District of Columbia
+1.415.365.7446
+1.202.624.2801

Mark D. Plevin is a Crowell & Moring partner who litigates and tries cases in the bankruptcy and insurance coverage areas. His unusual blend of experience in these two distinct areas has resulted in him assuming a lead counsel role, on behalf of both U.S. and international insurers, in some of the nation's most important asbestos bankruptcy and other mass tort bankruptcy cases. Mark also litigates major insurance coverage cases and handles trials and appeals in both bankruptcy and insurance matters.

In the asbestos bankruptcy area, Mark served as lead trial counsel for several insurers in the Plant Insulation, Thorpe Insulation, Federal-Mogul, and W.R. Grace confirmation hearings. Before that, Mark was lead trial counsel for several insurers in the Combustion Engineering confirmation hearing, then orally argued for those insurers in the subsequent district court and Third Circuit appeals; and in JT Thorpe, Mark argued in the Fifth Circuit the insurers' appeal of the confirmation order, having first obtained a stay of the confirmation order pending appeal. Currently, Mark is playing a leading role for several insurers in the Imerys Talc AmericaKaiser Gypsum, and Aldrich Pumps asbestos bankruptcy cases.

Mark also represents insurers in bankruptcy cases involving mass torts besides asbestos, such as opioids; sexual abuse by priests and others; silica; defective products; and liability for wildfires.

Outside the mass tort area, Mark represents both debtors and creditors in non-mass tort bankruptcy cases throughout the country. He was one of the debtors' lawyers in Baldwin-United, then the nation's largest-ever Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

Mark's creditor representations have included manufacturing companies, banks, airlines, consulting firms, insurance companies, shopping center owners, and health care providers. He has litigated a broad range of bankruptcy matters, including plan confirmation objections, automatic stay issues, issues concerning the sale and disposition of significant assets, claim objections, estimation proceedings, motions to appoint trustees, avoidance actions, approvals of settlements, and bankruptcy court jurisdiction and venue issues. Some of these matters involved trials in which Mark acted as lead counsel, and some involved appeals that Mark argued. In addition to litigating, Mark also counsels bankruptcy clients in pre-litigation situations, including negotiating prepackaged bankruptcy plans, and with respect to receiverships and corporate dissolutions. 

In the insurance coverage area, Mark has long experience as lead counsel representing insurers in cases involving environmental, asbestos, and products liability underlying claims and alleged insurer bad faith. For example: in American Home Products, a multi-phase case involving 39 separate contaminated sites, Mark won several summary judgment rulings knocking out of the case several of the most costly sites; in Exxon Corporation, an environmental insurance coverage lawsuit concerning Exxon's claims for more than $1.5 billion in insurance coverage relating to approximately 5200 sites in the United States and Canada, Mark's clients won nine summary adjudication motions and settled after trial commenced; and in In re Eljer-Brass Insurance Coverage Litigation, a products liability coverage case, the Illinois Supreme Court, following Mark's oral argument, adopted a "trigger of coverage" ruling sought by our clients and other insurance companies. Mark is currently representing insurers in coverage litigation involving sex abuse claims, cyber issues, lead paint, opioids, environmental contamination, and asbestos, and he is currently handling coverage litigation in California, New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Minnesota, and Hawaii. 

Mark has also represented different insurers in connection with their surety exposures, including in the W.R. Grace bankruptcy and in a series of cases in the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit involving customs bonds.

On several occasions, Mark has teamed with lawyers from the firm's Torts Group and Corporate Group to counsel clients who were considering purchasing or investing in companies that face exposure to asbestos liabilities regarding the risks and benefits of such proposed transactions as well as possible structures for such transactions.

Mark has repeatedly been named one of the top lawyers in both the bankruptcy and insurance fields by Chambers USA, in both California and the District of Columbia. Chambers currently ranks Mark nationally and in California in insurance. Mark has also repeatedly been listed in The Best Lawyers In America for both bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization law and insurance law, in the Guide to the World's Leading Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyers and the Guide to the World's Leading Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers, and as a Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer in the field of Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights. Lawdragon included Mark in its 2022 list of 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers. In 2015, Mark was recognized as a winner of the D.C. Bankruptcy Litigation Attorney of the Year category for the 6th Annual Global Law Experts Awards.

Mark regularly speaks on bankruptcy, insurance, and litigation topics. He has spoken at conferences or seminars for the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, the Third Circuit Judicial Conference, the American Bankruptcy Institute, Perrin Conferences, Mealey's Lexis-Nexis, ALI-ABA, the Practising Law Institute, HB Conferences, the American Bar Association’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, and at law school symposia.

Before starting law school, Mark was sports director of WCDB-FM and WSUA-AM in Albany, New York, where he did play-by-play of college basketball, football, soccer, and NHL hockey.



Insights


Speeches & Presentations

  • “Mass Tort Bankruptcies In Review,” American Bankruptcy Institute, 2022 Bankruptcy Battleground West, Los Angeles, CA (March 3, 2022). Panelist: Mark D. Plevin.
  • “How Did We Get Here? Mass Torts and Bankruptcy,” Bar Association of San Francisco, Commercial Law & Bankruptcy Section, Webinar (September 8, 2020). Panelist: Mark D. Plevin.
  • “The Living Dead: An Insurer’s Obligations to a Defunct Policyholder,” American Bar Association, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Annual Tucson, AZ (March 6, 2020). Panelist: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "The Allocation Game: A Practical Look at Who Wins Under All Sums, Pro Rata and the New ALI Restatement," 2019 Annual ABA Litigation Section Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar (March 1, 2019). Panelist: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Asbestos Compensation: The Impact of Bankruptcy on the Tort System," Perrin Conferences’ National Asbestos Litigation Conference, San Francisco, CA (September 8, 2014). Panelist: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Asbestos Bankruptcy: Recent Developments," Perrin Conferences, Beverly Hills, CA (March 1-2, 2012). Panelist: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Emerging Insurance Coverage & Allocation Issues," Perrin Conferences, New York, NY (February 23, 2012). Panelist: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "The Inevitable Flood of Bankruptcies Likely to Arise from the Gulf Coast Oil Disaster," American Bankruptcy Institute Winter Leadership Meeting, Scottsdale, AZ (December 2010). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Asbestos Bankruptcy Current Trends and Future Outlook," HB Litigation Conferences (2010). Panelist: Mark Plevin.
  • "Pre-Packaged Bankruptcies – Are They Still Viable?," HB Litigation Conferences' Asbestos Bankruptcy Litigation Conference (2010). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Top Insurance Issues," Perrin Conferences' Asbestos Litigation Conference (2010). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Alternative Dispute Resolution In Mass Tort And Other Complex Reorganization Cases," American Bankruptcy Institute Winter Leadership Conference (2008). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • Mealey’s Mass Tort Insurance Coverage Conference (2007). Co-Chair: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "The Futures Representative – It’s a Tough Job, But Somebody Has Got To Do It," Mealey’s Asbestos Bankruptcy Conference (2006). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Asbestos Bankruptcies, Past, Present and Future," Asbestos Litigation in the 21st Century, ALI-ABA (2006). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Enforceability of Arbitration Provisions in Bankruptcy Cases, 80th Annual Meeting," National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (2006). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Impact On Insurance/Reinsurance Industry: A Global Perspective and Analysis," Mealey’s Asbestos Liability Forum (2005). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Future of Pre-Packaged Bankruptcies," Mealey’s Asbestos Bankruptcy Conference (2005). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "The Mechanics of Asbestos Litigation and Bankruptcy," Asbestos – Anatomy of a Mass Tort: Symposium at University of Connecticut School of Law Insurance Law Center (2005). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Recent Developments Affecting Mass Torts Cases: Combustion Engineering et al.," American Bankruptcy Institute, Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop (2005). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Asbestos and Bankruptcy Issues," Practising Law Institute, Insurance Coverage 2005: Claim Trends & Litigation (2005). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Perspectives on Asbestos Bankruptcy – Insurance," Mealey’s Asbestos Bankruptcy Conference (2005). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Insurance Issues in Asbestos Bankruptcy," Mealey’s Asbestos Bankruptcy Conference (2004). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Asbestos Bankruptcy Update and Which Asbestos Defendants Are Next in Line for Section 524(g)," Mealey’s National Asbestos Litigation Conference (2004). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Bankruptcies: Status and Issues," Asbestos: The Unsolved $200 Billion Problem, A Tillinghast-Claims Resolution Management Corporation Seminar (2004). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Insurance Standing and 'Insurer Neutrality,'" Mealey’s Asbestos Bankruptcy Conference (2004). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Asbestos Bankruptcy Basics and Selected Related Insurance Issues," Mealey's Asbestos Bankruptcy Conference (June 3, 2003). Presentor: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Pre-Packaged Asbestos Bankruptcies: A Flawed Solution," Symposium, South Texas Law School (2003). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Coverage Issues in Bankruptcy Actions," ALI-ABA Advanced Course of Study: Insurance Coverage in the New Millennium (October 11, 2001). Panelist: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Environmental Insurance Coverage Litigation," ALI-ABA Course of Study on Environmental Litigation (1994-2000). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Joint Defense Groups in Coverage Litigation," ABA Section of Litigation, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Mid-Year Meeting (1998). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Litigating As Part of A Joint Defense Group," Law Education Institute, Civil Litigation Seminar (1998). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Where is the Money When the Policyholder Goes Bust?," ABA Annual Meeting (1997). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.
  • "Threshold Issues in Coverage Litigation, ABA Section of Litigation," Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Mid-Year Meeting (1996). Speaker: Mark D. Plevin.


Publications



Client Alerts & Newsletters



Press Coverage



Firm News & Announcements

August 18, 2022 The Best Lawyers in America 2023 Recognizes 54 Crowell & Moring Attorneys, Three Selected as Lawyer of the Year
June 1, 2022 Chambers USA 2022 Ranks 70 Crowell & Moring Lawyers and 37 Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
February 8, 2022 Mark Plevin and Monique Almy Named to 2022 Lawdragon 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers List
August 19, 2021 The Best Lawyers in America 2022 Recognizes 53 Crowell & Moring Attorneys, One Selected as Lawyer of the Year
May 20, 2021 Chambers USA 2021 Ranks 63 Crowell & Moring Lawyers and 30 Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
August 20, 2020 The Best Lawyers in America 2021 Recognizes 46 Crowell & Moring Attorneys, Two Selected as Lawyer of the Year
April 23, 2020 Chambers USA 2020 Ranks 53 Crowell & Moring Lawyers and 21 Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
October 10, 2019 Forbes Names Crowell & Moring to List of America's Top Corporate Law Firms
September 20, 2019 Super Lawyers Recognizes 82 Crowell & Moring Lawyers Across United States
August 16, 2019 The Best Lawyers in America 2020 Recognizes 49 Crowell & Moring Attorneys, Three Selected as Lawyer of the Year
April 29, 2019 Chambers USA 2019 Ranks 53 Crowell & Moring Lawyers and 21 Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
October 15, 2018 Super Lawyers Recognizes 82 Crowell & Moring Lawyers Across United States
August 15, 2018 The Best Lawyers in America 2019 Recognizes 38 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
May 9, 2018 Chambers USA 2018 Ranks 52 Crowell & Moring Lawyers and 24 Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
October 31, 2017 Super Lawyers Recognizes 79 Crowell & Moring Lawyers Across United States
October 31, 2017 The Best Lawyers in America 2018 Recognizes 40 Crowell & Moring Lawyers
May 26, 2017 Chambers USA 2017 Ranks 53 Crowell & Moring Lawyers and 23 Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
November 30, 2016 Super Lawyers Recognizes 71 Crowell & Moring Lawyers Across United States
August 18, 2016 The Best Lawyers in America 2017 Recognizes 38 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
May 27, 2016 Chambers USA Ranks 56 Crowell & Moring Attorneys and 19 Leading Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
October 27, 2015 Super Lawyers Recognizes 90 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
August 25, 2015 The Best Lawyers in America 2016 Recognizes 39 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
May 19, 2015 Chambers USA Ranks 53 Crowell & Moring Attorneys and 20 Leading Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
September 30, 2014 Super Lawyers 2014 Recognizes 90 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
August 28, 2014 The Best Lawyers In America 2015 Recognizes 40 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
May 27, 2014 Crowell & Moring's Insurance/Reinsurance Group Nominated for Chambers USA "Award of Excellence"
May 23, 2014 Chambers USA Ranks 51 Crowell & Moring Attorneys and 19 Leading Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
September 3, 2013 The Best Lawyers In America 2014 Recognizes 41 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
September 1, 2013 Super Lawyers 2013 Recognizes 64 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
May 24, 2013 Chambers USA Ranks 45 Crowell & Moring Attorneys and 19 Leading Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
September 4, 2012 The Best Lawyers in America 2013 Recognizes 44 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
June 7, 2012 Chambers USA Ranks 45 Crowell & Moring Attorneys and 18 Leading Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
December 15, 2011 Seven Crowell & Moring Attorneys Included in Washingtonian’s 2011 “Top Lawyers” Issue
August 30, 2011 The Best Lawyers in America 2012 Recognizes 43 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
June 10, 2011 Chambers USA Ranks Crowell & Moring Attorneys and Leading Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
September 1, 2010 Super Lawyers 2010 Recognizes 36 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
August 3, 2010 The Best Lawyers in America 2011 Recognizes 44 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
June 11, 2010 Chambers USA Ranks 42 Crowell & Moring Attorneys and 14 Practice Areas as Among Best In Class
September 1, 2009 Super Lawyers 2009 Recognizes 39 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
June 13, 2008 Chambers USA Ranks 33 Crowell & Moring Attorneys and 13 Practice Areas as Among Best In Class
September 11, 2007 The Best Lawyers in America 2008 Recognizes 34 Crowell & Moring Attorneys
June 21, 2007 Chambers USA Ranks 28 Crowell & Moring Attorneys and 13 Practice Areas