Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP is pleased to announce that Mark B. Rotenberg, vice president and general counsel of Johns Hopkins University, will join WilmerHale as special counsel in the law firm’s Washington DC office. Mr. Rotenberg, who previously served as general counsel of the University of Minnesota for more than two decades, will be a senior member of WilmerHale’s higher education practice.

WilmerHale Partner Jamie Gorelick, chair of the firm’s Regulatory and Government Affairs Department, said, “As chief legal officer of two preeminent research institutions, one public and one private, Mark brings a lifetime of experience to the high stakes regulatory, litigation and transactional issues colleges and universities face. We are delighted he will be joining WilmerHale.”

Mr. Rotenberg, who is the current chair of the General Counsels Committee of the Association of American Universities, has managed numerous sensitive internal investigations, including alleged research misconduct, regulatory violations and electronic data misuse. He has maintained an active litigation practice, successfully arguing cases in the US Supreme Court, US Courts of Appeals and other forums. In addition, he has supervised the legal affairs of the John Hopkins School of Medicine and the University of Minnesota’s Academic Health Center, including clinical and research matters, the sale, acquisition, and affiliation of hospitals and medical clinics, and protection and licensing of intellectual property.
 
After graduating from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an editor of the Law Review, Mr. Rotenberg clerked for Judge Patricia M. Wald of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Mr. Rotenberg served in the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel before returning to his home state of Minnesota and becoming a partner in a prominent Minneapolis firm. He has also taught at the University of Minnesota and its law school and at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. 

Bruce Berman, who heads WilmerHale’s Education Practice, said, “I met Mark 30 years ago and have followed his career ever since. He knows how to fashion practical solutions to complex legal problems, and he sees the serious issues lurking around the corner in today’s world of higher education. WilmerHale is proud to represent some of the country’s leading colleges and universities, and Mark will be a key member of our team.”