A respected trial lawyer, Mark MacDougall’s practice focuses on civil and criminal litigation. He is the first Akin Gump partner elected a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has extensive civil and criminal trial experience in federal and state courts across the United States. Mr. MacDougall’s work has been profiled or prominently featured in a number of top-tier U.S.-based and global media outlets, and he has been consistently ranked among the country’s preeminent litigators by respected legal publication Chambers U.S.
Practice & Background
During the early 1990s, Mr. MacDougall served as a federal prosecutor with the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where he was the lead attorney in a series of highly successful financial fraud prosecutions. In private practice, Mr. MacDougall’s clients regularly include senior officials of the United States government; journalists; corporate executives; public institutions; foreign governments; and multinational businesses - as well as indigent defendants facing the death penalty. Mr. MacDougall is currently serving his second term as a Trustee of the Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia
During the past decade, Mr. MacDougall has handled numerous noteworthy and unusual cases for clients facing a wide variety of civil claims, as well as charges of financial fraud, money laundering and public corruption. These have included cases of historic consequence, such as the federal civil suit that resulted in the recovery of the financial assets seized from the owner of the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Sudan that was destroyed by the U.S. Navy and the criminal defense of a former executive director of the CIA who was the highest-ranking U.S. intelligence official ever indicted.
For more than a decade, Mr. MacDougall has devoted considerable time to the pro bono trial representation of criminal defendants facing the death penalty in South Carolina. His work in this area has received national recognition, including the Foot Soldier Award from the NAACP (the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization) and the Exemplar Award from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.
In addition, Mr. MacDougall directs Akin Gump’s extensive representation of religious institutes and congregations in the United States, Canada and Europe. He is an authority on the civil reconfiguration of religious institutes and is a regular speaker and contributor at programs sponsored by the National Association of Treasurers of Religious Institutes and the Legal Resource Center for Religious.
Outside of his legal practice, Mr. MacDougall also serves on the Boards of Directors of IMG Worldwide – the international sports marketing firm – and 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide, Inc. based in San Ramon, California.
Mr. MacDougall received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, his MBA from Boston University and his J.D. from the George Washington University.
Community Involvement
Mr. MacDougall is a trustee of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.
Awards & Accolades
Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2008 – 2014)
Best Lawyers in America (2010 – 2015)
Washington D.C. Super Lawyers (Top 100 – 2012 – 2014)
