Mark A. Kornfeld

How Mark Helps Clients

Mark Kornfeld is a trusted adviser to his clients. He has vast, cross-border expertise in asset recovery, bankruptcy litigation, business tort, complex commercial litigation, corporate divorces, corporate governances, crypto and digital assets, directors and officers, equity receiverships, internal investigation, mediation, Ponzi schemes, and regulatory and securities litigation under state and federal securities laws (and FINRA) and whistleblowers. Mark is also a legal and business strategist and counsel for the sports, entertainment, technology industries advising them in litigation intellectual property and transactional matters. With more than 30 years of experience, Mark is known globally as a highly-skilled dispute resolution expert, who advises, manages, counsels and defends boards of directors, corporate clients, executives, and individuals across many industries, including construction, digital assets, entertainment, emerging companies, financial services, hedge funds, investment management, media, private equity, real estate development, sports, and technology. 

Mark also serves as a court-appointed federal equity receiver in connection with the In Re Kinetics action, charged with returning assets to victims of the alleged malfeasance and fraud in that matter. Mark provided nearly a decade of relentless service - as one of the core leaders and strategists - for court-appointed Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) Trustee Irving Picard and his lead counsel David Sheehan, in the worldwide efforts to recover billions in assets for the Fund of Customer Property. Mark was one of the few attorneys in the world to interview the late Mr. Bernard Madoff in prison as part of the Trustee’s investigation. Mark also humbly served the Recovery Initiative as the first Chair of both the Expert and Settlement Committees, as well as personally leading multiple teams involved in billions in settlements and litigations against managers, investment advisors, domestic and international feeder funds and other financial institutions.

Due to Mark’s wealth of experience, he is frequently sough out for thought leadership, panels and commentary by broadcast, and streaming media on high-profile litigation and regulatory enforcement matters arising in connection with Ponzi schemes, insider trading,regulatory enforcement and crypto and digital asset matters such as FTX/Bankman-Fried, Coinbase and Binance, as well as many other securities and economic frauds.

I pride myself on delivering first-class legal and business advice and counsel to clients at platinum value — I distinguish myself by always being in the trenches with you. You know with certainty that what keeps you up at night will be keeping me up at night on your behalf too.

What Clients Can Expect

Mark proudly stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his clients in their business and helps them make crucial decisions that will help further their ultimate goals. He is well-respected for always taking a pragmatic, business-centric approach to existing and potential problems. Mark’s clients know that he will always study and see the full "chess board" moves ahead - not only during active litigation, but also by routinely providing risk management strategies to aid clients' business decisions so that they can avoid litigation.

Mark draws from decades of high-stakes experiences to provide decisive advice and counsel customized to solving a client’s individual problems. Mark works as the consummate value-add for his clients by quickly analyzing the competing variables on complicated disputes, how they will or might impact the client, and, by providing multi-dimensional, strategic and practical risk-management advice to the client no matter the industry or scope of the problems at issue. Mark is always mindful of his clients’ time and money and is fully committed to surpassing the highest standards of client service along with demonstrable, substantive expertise in the most economical way forward.

Outside the Office

Mark’s greatest pride comes from his two, adult sons Brett, 28, with a master’s degree from Notre Dame in Data Analytics and a senior analyst at FanDuel, as well as his youngest son Dylan, 27, who is a Vanderbilt University law school graduate and a capital markets and banking, transactional /corporate attorney for a top New York law firm.

Mark is an avid, quasi-obsessive Philadelphia Eagles football fan, who proudly notes that he can one day “die in peace” having lived to witness his beloved Eagles’ 2018 Super Bowl victory over the Patriots which he attended live in Minneapolis with his oldest son. Mark also has a deep passion for the New York Knicks and Yankees,  television, movies, content, all things WWE, UFC, boxing, music,and poker, where he has played The World Series of Poker Main Event on four separate occasions and sets reaching a final table at a "bracelet event" as still being on his "life list."

Awards

• The Best Lawyers in America© in the Commercial Litigation category since 2022

• The Legal 500 United States (2015, 2016-7)
• Recommended in Dispute Resolution: Securities litigation – defense
• New York Metro "Super Lawyer" (2011 to 2018)

Proof Points

• Appointed Federal Equity Receiver by the Middle District of Florida in connection with an SEC Enforcement Action arising out of an alleged $40 million plus investment management fraudulent scheme with massive recoveries, and money returned to investors.
• Senior counsel who helped secure billion in settlement, a pre-complaint $500m settlement against feeder fund, and financial institution in connection with the Madoff Ponzi scheme.