Mark Plotkin and David Fagan Named “Dealmakers of the Year” by The American Lawyer

WASHINGTON, DC - The American Lawyer has named Covington partners Mark Plotkin and David Fagan as “Dealmakers of the Year.” The annual feature showcases “the lawyers behind the most significant work” in dealmaking.

In its profile of Mr. Plotkin and Mr. Fagan in the magazine’s April 2016 issue, The American Lawyer praises the pair’s strategy that steered GlobalFoundries through its $1.5 billion acquisition of IBM's semiconductor unit. The deal prompted “one of the most complex reviews in memory by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States,” according to The American Lawyer, and Plotkin and Fagan led a team that “drafted mitigation agreements while helping federal lawmakers and congressional staffers understand the deal’s sensitivities and allaying their concerns.” The transaction secured CFIUS approval without objection from Congress and closed in July 2015.

Mr. Plotkin, chair of the firm’s National Security and Defense Industry Group, handles CFIUS matters as well as anti-money laundering, and Bank Secrecy Act, USA PATRIOT Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and Dodd-Frank Act compliance issues, and other bank regulatory, defense and security matters.

Mr. Fagan serves as co-chair of the practice on cross-border investment and national security matters. He has represented foreign and domestic clients in various industries in securing the approval of CFIUS, as well as in connection with ongoing compliance matters related to mitigation agreements with CFIUS. He also frequently handles matters related to the mitigation of foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI) under applicable national industrial security regulations.