Mark G. Cunha is a Partner in the Firm’s Litigation Department.  He represents key defendants in some of the most significant and high-profile matters in the United States.  In his almost 30 years at the Firm he has appeared in trial and appellate courts throughout the country, particularly in the areas of securities, antitrust, products liability and complex commercial litigation, and before federal regulatory agencies concerning antitrust and securities matters.  His current and recent cases include representation of:

• Fairfield Greenwich Group entities and associated individuals, as lead counsel in more than a dozen federal and state litigations arising out of the Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.  Matters include consolidated class action litigation, derivative litigation on behalf of the funds, direct litigation by a fund, clawback proceedings in bankruptcy court by the Madoff Trustee, and numerous investigations;
• An AmLaw 100 Law Firm, as lead counsel in two malpractice litigations arising out of multi-building real estate transactions in Manhattan;  
• Princeton University, in the closely watched Robertson Foundation litigation seeking return of a gift and past spending exceeding $1 billion, which has been called by the Wall Street Journal perhaps the most important case ever regarding charitable donations to higher education;
• Enel S.p.A. and Gas Natural SDG, S.A., as lead counsel in  United States federal court litigation arising out of their  $30+ billion tender offers for Endesa, S.A.;
• The Neiman Marcus Group, as lead counsel in litigation seeking to enjoin its $5 billion merger;
• J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., as lead counsel in the  well publicized equity research analyst investigations and litigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulatory authorities;
• Heineken NV, Heineken USA and other alcohol beverage manufacturers, in defense of litigations in ten federal and state courts seeking more than $2 billion in damages based on alleged marketing of alcoholic beverages to underage consumers;
• B.A.T Industries p.l.c., nationwide, in the celebrated tobacco litigations brought by state attorneys general.  Mr. Cunha was lead counsel in many of these litigations; and 
• M-real domestic and European companies, as lead counsel in defense of the publication paper antitrust litigations in federal and state courts.

Mr. Cunha interned at The White House from 1979 to 1980.  He serves as Chair of Legal Services New York City, the largest provider of legal services to the poor in the United States, and served as Chair of the Executive Committee and Vice President of the New York City Bar Association.  He has also served on the Executive Committee of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association.  He is a mediator for the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court, New York County.  He is the recipient of the 1990 Outstanding Volunteer Lawyer Award given by the Legal Aid Society, and the 1991 New York County Lawyers Association Pro Bono Award.  Mr. Cunha was also a Trustee and Chair of the Legal Committee of the Lycée Francais de New York, and in 2007 was made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the government of France.

Mr. Cunha has been a partner at Simpson Thacher since 1989.  He received his A.B. magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and with distinction in all subjects in 1977 from Cornell University, and received his J.D. in 1980 from Stanford Law School.  He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second, Third and Fourth Circuits, the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts, the U.S. Tax Court and the New York State Courts.

Honors/Associations

•	Legal Services NYC, Chair, 2009 -
•	Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques, French Ministry of Education, 2007
•	New York City Bar Association, Chair, Executive Committee, 2003; Chair, Delegation to NYS Bar Association House of Delegates, 2003; Chair, Legal Assistance Committee 1991-1994; Vice President, 2004
•	Lycée Francais de New York, Trustee and Chair, Legal Committee, 1998-2009
•	Pro Bono Award, New York County Lawyers Association, 1991
•	Outstanding Volunteer Lawyers Award, Legal Aid Society, 1990
•	International Bar Association
•	American Bar Association

Publications

•	The Supreme Court Considers Whether the NFL is a "Single Entity" and thus Immune from Antitrust Scrutiny
•	The Heightened Pleading Standard of Twombly Applies to All Federal Civil Claims
•	The Supreme Court Rejects the “Price Squeeze” Theory of Illegal Monopolization
•	The Supreme Court Considers the Applicability of the “Price-Squeeze” Theory of Illegal Monopolization
•	Supreme Court Finds in a “Lights” Cigarettes Case That Claims for Violation of a State Statutory Duty Not to Deceive Are Not Preempted by the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act
•	Supreme Court Hears Its Second Significant Preemption Case This Term
•	The Supreme Court Revisits the Preemption of State Law Consumer Protection Claims
•	Whole Foods/Wild Oats: D.C. Circuit Reverses and Remands on Motion to Preliminarily Enjoin Already Consummated Merger
•	The Supreme Court Limits Punitive Damages Award In The Exxon Valdez Case To 1:1 Ratio To Compensatory Damages
•	The Department of Justice Gives Unconditional Approval to Proposed Merger of Sirius and XM
•	Supreme Court Bars State Common Law Claims Challenging Medical Devices with FDA Pre-Market Approval
•	First U.K. Criminal Charges Are Brought Against Cartel Participants Following DOJ Plea Agreements in the U.S.
•	EU Commission Dawn Raids Companies for Alleged Gun-Jumping Violations
•	The European Court of First Instance Upholds the European Commission’s Finding that Microsoft Abused its Dominant Position
•	Supreme Court Holds That Minimum Resale Price Maintenance is Not a Per Se Violation of Antitrust Law
•	Supreme Court Rules that IPO Litigation is Immune from Antitrust Scrutiny
•	Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly: Raising the Bar for Pleadings by Antitrust Plaintiffs
•	Litigation Update: Courts Dismiss Class Actions Challenging Alcohol Beverage Industry's Advertising

Speaking Engagements

•	Mark Cunha Speaks at Hedge Fund General Counsel Dinner March 12, 2010

Admissions

•	New York 1981
•	U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York 1981
•	U.S. District Court Southern District of New York 1981
•	U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit 1991
•	U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit 2001
•	U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit 2006
•	U.S. Supreme Court 1996
•	U.S. Tax Court 1992

Education

•	Stanford Law School, 1980 J.D.
•	Cornell University, 1977 A.B. magna cum laude; With Distinction in all Subjects; Phi Beta Kappa