Mark S. Stewart

Mark S. Stewart is Chair of the firm. Before assuming his full-time leadership position, he successfully litigated complex commercial matters, including securities, antitrust, contract disputes, and product liability, on behalf of major pharmaceutical and other corporate clients. Mark also chaired the firm's Higher Education Practice Group and represented university clients across the country in commercial disputes and other civil litigation.

As Chair, Mark has led a number of strategic expansions. He oversaw Ballard Spahr's entry into the New York market through cross-practice lateral acquisition and a combination with the white collar defense firm Stillman & Friedman. In 2018, Mark guided the firm in the establishment of its Midwest presence, overseeing its merger with Lindquist & Vennum, which added offices in Minneapolis and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and bolstered Ballard Spahr's corporate transactional capabilities. Under his direction, the firm developed the nation's premier First Amendment litigation and media law practice, merging with Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz in 2017 and adding a team from Leopold, Petrich & Smith two years later.