Mark Treanor’s practice focuses on litigation, government and internal investigations, alternative dispute resolutions, regulatory matters and corporate and board governance.  He brings to his clients’ representation a unique combination of over twenty years’ experience as a trial lawyer plus nearly a decade as a Fortune 100 general counsel.  During his career he has tried both bench and jury cases, argued in state and federal appeals courts, directed the successful U.S. Supreme Court appeal of an industry-impacting matter involving numerous parties and amici, managed a large portfolio of complex cases of potential significant financial, regulatory and reputational impact and overseen numerous government and internal investigations.  He has extensive experience relating to corporate governance, legal support for business development and expansion, securities disclosure, internal and external corporate communications, and mergers and acquisitions.

Named one of the five best General Counsel in the United States by Corporate Board Member Magazine in 2008, Mark is former Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary of Wachovia Corporation (1999 – 2008), which during his tenure was the fourth largest banking institution and second largest retail brokerage business in the United States. 

Mark led a legal division of approximately 400 attorneys and staff and was responsible for legal, regulatory, legislative and major contracting matters for all domestic and global businesses; managed global legal resources, including the company’s relationships with hundreds of law firms in the United States and abroad; and provided advice in all Corporate Board and in Audit Committee meetings.  He was a member of Wachovia’s Corporate Operating Committee – senior leaders overseeing strategic planning and management of the company, corporate-wide business process redesign and revenue-expense realignment programs, and corporate restructuring and major acquisitions.  He was also responsible for the company’s government relations and lobbying efforts, chaired Wachovia’s Corporate Security Committee – focused on homeland security issues, chaired the company’s Pandemic Planning Committee, and was a member of the Senior Risk Committee, the Investment Review Committee, and the Corporate Diversity Council.

Currently Chairman (non-executive) of the Board of Directors of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc., a NASDAQ-traded asset management firm, he has extensive public, governmental and non-profit board experience: as counsel to Wachovia Corporation’s Board of Directors; a member of the Board of Directors of Wachovia Bank, N.A.; Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the Export-Import Bank of the United States; Chairman, Board of Directors of the National Defense University Foundation; Vice-Chairman, Board of Visitors, United States Naval Academy; and as a Member of the Board of Visitors of the United States National Defense University, the Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland School of Law, the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, and the Board of Advisors of the University of North Carolina Center for Banking and Finance.

Prior to joining Wachovia’s predecessor, First Union Corporation, in 1998, Mark was a founding partner of Treanor Pope & Hughes where he specialized in complex business and banking litigation and issues, including as the lead trial lawyer in cases in seventeen states.  Before forming his own firm in 1985, he had been a partner in the Maryland law firm of Miles & Stockbridge where he specialized in complex litigation representing American and European companies in trade regulation, tender offer, corporate, banking and insurance matters. He has been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Tax Court, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Court of Appeals of Maryland, and the Supreme Court of Vermont, among others.  Mark has achieved the highest peer review “AV”® rating given by Martindale – Hubbell indicating recognition for professional excellence and the highest levels of skill and integrity.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Mark served as an infantry and artillery officer in the United States Marine Corps (2nd Lt – Capt, 1968 – 1973).  He holds a Juris Doctor degree (with honors) from the University of Maryland School of Law where he was a member of the Law Review, Order of the Coif, and Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity.

Reflecting his significant interest in international relations and national security matters, Mark is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; Business Executives for National Security; and is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum. He was previously a member of the Financial Services Roundtable where he chaired the Global Financial Issues Committee.  He has held, and is currently qualified for, a Top Secret/SCI security clearance and has participated in Defense Department-sponsored fact-finding missions to Iraq, the Horn of Africa, Yemen, Kosovo, the Caucasus and other locations in Africa and Europe, has participated in National Security Strategy Exercises, a Central Command Regional Disaster Management Symposium involving multiple African countries, and has been a guest lecturer at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Mark has lectured on leadership and law practice, diversity in law firms and businesses, and on various legal topics.  Since his retirement from Wachovia, he has also been an executive advisor to other corporate general counsel on leadership and legal department management issues.