Mark Thomson

Counsel

Mark’s practice centers on litigation, where his clients have scored wins over billion-dollar multimedia conglomerates, Fortune 500 companies, and all manner of professional detractors. Clients describe Mark’s arguments as “inspired” and “works of art,” and judges at every level of the federal judiciary—including the U.S. Supreme Court—cite his writing as authority in major cases. Mark has been instrumental in obtaining corrections and retractions from print publications, television broadcasters, and movie studios, but many of his most important wins come from nipping false and defamatory narratives in the bud, before they ever imperil his clients’ reputations. Mark’s discernment and knack for making complicated points intelligible help his clients to consistently make their best cases—not just in court, but to publishers and the public.

 Before building his practice as a defamation and First Amendment lawyer, Mark was a deputy director at a federal agency, an appellate and administrative lawyer at an AmLaw 100 firm, a law clerk for three federal judges, a team member at a wind energy developer, and a speech writer, policy analyst, and media director for a Wisconsin senator. Besides defamation and First Amendment law, Mark has substantial experience litigating and counseling clients on matters involving intellectual property and administrative law. 

Representative Matters

Kytch, Inc v. McDonald’s: Represents a start-up tech company in $900 million trade libel litigation against McDonald’s and McFlurry Machine-maker Taylor Company.

Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network: Member of trial team that obtained a record $787 million settlement from Fox News Network for broadcasting false and defamatory claims about voting machines used in the 2020 Presidential Election.

MIllerCoors v. Anheuser-Busch Companies: Crafted arguments that spurred a federal trial court to preliminarily enjoin one of the world’s largest brewing companies from publishing false and misleading claims about its competitor’s products.

Representative Publications

  • Textualism and the Administrative Procedure Act, 98 Notre Dame L. Rev. 2071 (2023) (with Kristin Hickman)

  • The Chevronization of Auer, 103 Minn. L. Rev. Headnotes 103 (2019) (with Kristin Hickman)

  • Open Minds and Harmless Errors, 101 Cornell L. Rev. 261 (2016) (with Kristin Hickman)

Education

  • University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., magna cum laude

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, B.A., comprehensive honors

Experience

  • Associate, Clare Locke LLP, 2021-2023

  • Deputy Director, Administrative Conference of the United States, 2019-2021

  • Associate, Crowell & Moring LLP 2016-2019

  • Law Clerk, Chief Judge Ed E. Carnes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 2015-2016

  • Law Clerk, Judge John M. Rogers, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2014-2015

  • Law Clerk, Judge Robert J. Jonker, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, 2012-2013

Admissions

  • District of Columbia

  • Minnesota (Inactive)

  • U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third, Ninth, Tenth, District of Columbia, and Federal Circuits

  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia