Marc Elliot Kasowitz, born June 28, 1952, grew up in a middle-class family in New Haven, Connecticut, where his father owned a scrap metal business. He began his legal career at the law firm Mayer Brown, working there until 1993, when he co-founded the New York-based Kasowitz Benson Torres (now known as Kasowitz LLP), serving as its founding partner. Kasowitz specializes in complex litigation, acting as national trial counsel in matters involving bank finance, leveraged buyouts, fraudulent conveyance, RICO, corporate governance, trade secret misappropriation, antitrust, securities, and mass torts. His clients have included TPG, Douglas Elliman Realty, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Pilgrim's Pride, Fairfax Financial Holdings, Liggett, MBIA, Woodstock 50, Hoechst Celanese, and two Russian clients with close ties to Vladimir Putin. He served as the former personal attorney to Donald Trump, retained on May 24, 2017, to represent the president personally in connection with investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections, and resigned on July 20, 2017. More recently, he has represented Jewish and Israeli students in federal lawsuits against Columbia University, Barnard College, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, and Harvard University, alleging violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 due to antisemitic environments, resulting in first-of-their-kind settlements including the creation of independent Title VI offices at NYU and Harvard.