Overview
Mark W. Pearlstein concentrates his practice on white-collar criminal defense, the defense of actions brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, complex commercial litigation, arbitration and internal investigations. Previously, he was the partner-in-charge of the Boston office and served as head of the Boston Trial Department. Mark is also a member of the Firm-wide Management Committee.
Mark has substantial experience in the investigation and trial of complex white-collar criminal cases and other government enforcement matters, including healthcare, securities and tax fraud, and matters arising out of government procurement programs. He represents clients before courts and government agencies throughout the United States. In late 2018, Mark successfully defended a pharmacist charged with RICO, Mail Fraud and Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act charges. Following a two-month trial, Mark’s client was acquitted of all charges.
In April 2020, Mark was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to conduct an independent investigation of the COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. The report by Mark and his team has resulted in a number of policy and personnel changes at both the Home and in Massachusetts state government. The “Pearlstein Report” formed the basis for legislation introduced by Governor Baker To reform the Home and its oversight.
Mark also has substantial experience in complex commercial litigation and arbitration. He has tried a number of civil cases, including the Massachusetts Port Authority’s successful challenge to an injunction prohibiting the construction of a new runway at Boston’s Logan Airport.
Previously, Mark was a federal prosecutor in Boston’s US Attorney’s Office. He served as chief of the Office’s Economic Crimes Unit from 1994 to 1996, and was the first assistant US attorney from late 1996 until 2000. In that role, he supervised the Civil and Criminal Divisions of the US Attorney’s Office.
Mark served as acting US attorney responsible for negotiating what was then the largest resolution of a healthcare fraud case. He was a member of the Department of Justice working group responsible for promulgating Federal Prosecution of Corporations, the set of guidelines that governs prosecutorial decisions regarding corporations, and received numerous awards for his work.
Results
- Represented the former chief investment officer of State Street Global Advisers in a suit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission; following a three-week trial, the client was exonerated completely
- Appointed by Massachusetts Governor to conduct an independent investigation of a state-run long-term care facility. The ensuing report and its recommendations appear to be contributing to needed improvements at the facility and in its oversight
- Successfully tried multiple healthcare fraud cases
- Successfully tried multiple criminal tax cases
- Successfully advocated on behalf of numerous clients in persuading prosecutors and enforcement agencies to decline the bring charges
- Represented a Ponzi scheme victim in connection with the recovery of more than $15 million
- Successfully defended a pharmacist charged with RICO, Mail Fraud and Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act Charges; following a two-month trial, the client was acquitted of all charges
Recognitions
- Chambers USA, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (Band 1), 2004 to 2023
- The Best Lawyers in America: Healthcare Litigation, Commercial Litigation and Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2022 and 2023-2024
- The Best Lawyers in America: Boston Criminal Defense: White-Collar “Lawyer of the Year,” 2018, 2021 and 2023
- Legal 500 US, 2019, 2021 and 2023
- Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Go To Business Litigation Lawyer, 2022
- Benchmark Litigation, Local Litigation Star, 2021
- The Best Lawyers in America, 2006 to 2022
- US Department of Justice, Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service
Credentials
Education
Harvard Law School, JD, cum laude, 1983
University of Michigan, AB, with highest distinction, 1979
Admissions
Massachusetts
Courts / Agencies
US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
US Tax Court
US District Court for the District of Massachusetts
