Mark Barnes
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Mark Barnes is an American attorney serving as a partner in the
Ropes & Gray Ropes & Gray LLP is an American multinational law firm with 14 U.S., Asia, and Europe offices. The firm has over 1,500 lawyers and professionals worldwide, its clients include corporations, financial institutions, government agencies, universitie ...
health care and life sciences practice based in Boston. He was director of policy for the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute, and associate commissioner for medical and legal policy for the
New York City Department of Health The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (also known as NYC Health) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for public health along with issuing birth certificates, dog licenses, and conducting restaur ...
under the mayoralty of
David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. Dinkins was among the more than 20,000 Montford Point Marine Associa ...
. He worked on the National Health Care Reform Task Force in the
Clinton Administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...
. He also has served as executive vice president of
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research hospital headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on chi ...
and founded and directed the
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
HIV/AIDS treatment programs in Africa. His current legal and advocacy work includes a focus on the fields of research compliance, the ethics and regulation of clinical trials,
medical privacy Medical privacy, or health privacy, is the practice of maintaining the security and confidentiality of patient records. It involves both the conversational discretion of health care providers and the security of medical records. The terms can also ...
, and "big data" research. He is past president of the
New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...
's
Health Law Health law is a field of law that encompasses federal, state, and local law, rules, regulations and other jurisprudence among providers, payers and vendors to the health care industry and its patients, and delivery of health care services, with a ...
Section.


Personal

Barnes is a native of Dadeville,
Tallapoosa County Tallapoosa County is a county located in the east-central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama."ACES Tallapoosa County Office" (links/history), Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES), 2007, webpageACES-Tallapoosa As of the 2020 census, t ...
,
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
. He is the son of Elaine Robinson and Mike Barnes, and his family has lived around Tallapoosa for generations. According to his family oral history, he is a direct descendant of
Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...
. Barnes plans to retire to Dadeville, where he purchased family property. He has been with his partner since 1984. Barnes attended
Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,
. In 1984 Barnes graduated from
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
with a
juris doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
, and in 1991 he received his L.L.M. from
Columbia University School of Law Columbia Law School (CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The university is known for its legal scholarship dating ba ...
.


Legal career

In 1988, as an associate professor of the
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
, Barnes founded the
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
Law Clinic. He is a faculty member at the
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
and lecturer at the
Yale Medical School The Yale School of Medicine is the medical school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. It is the sixth-oldest m ...
. He has taught at several other law schools, including
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
,
NYU Law School The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest surviving ...
,
Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and adjunct faculty. ...
, Cardozo Law School, and
New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...
. He has taught courses in the ethics and law of human subjects research, healthcare law,
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
, managed care law, occupational health and safety law, the regulation of narcotics, and law and medicine.


AIDS Law Clinic

Barnes and Professor Deborah Greenberg at
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
founded the first legal clinic addressing the AIDS crisis, to allow law students to represent persons living with AIDS in anti-discrimination cases.Kristina Campbell, "Mark Barnes wants AIDS Action Council to be a "tough presence"'', ''The Washington Blade,'' January 6, 1994 The program was funded in part by the
U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...
and received referrals from the New York City Commission on Human Rights and the State Division of Human Rights. The clinical education director at Columbia said of Barnes: " eis a leader in the field, and we're lucky to have him. He's highly knowledgeable, he's litigated on a precedented discrimination case, and he's sensitive to the AIDS crisis." The clinic was praised by public health officials and by students as hands-on experience, but the school did not commit to continue it. When it did not renew Barnes' contract, students protested, and the issue was covered in the press. On April 12, 1989, 200 students protested Columbia Law School's attempts to close the "school's successful and much praised 'AIDS' legal clinic." They held a sit-in at the law school building to demand the faculty committee renew Barnes's contract for another year. "We thought one of the reasons for him not being reappointed is the lack of support for the clinic by the university," said
Maya Wiley Maya D. Wiley (born January 2, 1964) is an American lawyer, professor, and civil rights activist. She has served as president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights since May 2022. Wiley served as counsel to New York City ...
, 3L and protest organizer. Dean Barbara Black said the school supported the clinic, but declined to say why Barnes was not offered another one-year contract. Wiley said, "In all of our conversations with the powers-that-be at this school, it's been very clear to us that the clinic is in jeopardy and that there is a prevailing attitude among the powers-that-be opposed to the clinical approach." Student Matt Levine said: "We do care about Mark Barnes because he has run the clinic extremely well. But the core issue is the continuation of the AIDS clinic." On April 19, co-founder Deborah Green announced the school would keep the clinic open. On June 28, 1989, the ''Columbia Spectator'' reported that Barnes was reappointed and promoted from clinic advisor to the assistant clinical professor of law by the faculty. "I'm gratified that the clinic will continue for an additional semester, but the challenge for the Law School is going to be the continuation of the clinic after the fall semester," said Barnes.


Public service

In 1989, Barnes began working as the AIDS policy director for the
New York State Department of Health The New York State Department of Health is the department of the Government of New York (state), New York state government responsible for public health. Its regulations are compiled in title 10 of the ''New York Codes, Rules and Regulations''. ...
, and later served as the executive director of AIDS Action Council, the primary national lobbying group focused on care and prevention of HIV/AIDS. The appointment as executive director of AIDS Action Council was criticized by an activist with
ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...
/Washington, who said that Barnes' appointment was a "commitment to mediocrity" and that a director living with AIDS should have been chosen. In 1992, while serving as the associate commissioner of the
New York City Department of Health The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (also known as NYC Health) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for public health along with issuing birth certificates, dog licenses, and conducting restaur ...
he wrote and managed the adoption of new health regulations that allowed the public health authorities to detain and treat patients with tuberculosis who had failed to take their anti-tuberculosis medications. Barnes participated in the first-ever White House Conference on HIV and AIDS on December 6, 1995. He has been a consultant for the National Commission on AIDS, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...
, the
American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...
, and the National Minority Task Force on AIDS. In 2000, he was appointed by then- Health and Human Services Secretary
Donna Shalala Donna Edna Shalala ( ; born February 14, 1941) is an American politician and academic who served in the Carter and Clinton administrations, as well as in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. Shalala is a recipient of the Preside ...
to the new National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee, which examined issues of ethical conduct in human medical experimentation.New York Law Journal, ''Today's News: Update'', January 4, 2001. He later served on the HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections. In 2012 he co-founded, and continues to serve as faculty co-chair of, the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital, a project designed to improve the planning, conduct and regulation of multi-national clinical trials, with a special emphasis on trials in the emerging economies. In 2004, he was the founding executive director of the Harvard University AIDS treatment programs in Nigeria, Tanzania and Botswana funded under the PEPFAR program.


Recognition

*The Best Lawyers in America (1997-2018) *Legal 500 (2015, 2017-2018) *Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2004-2006) *New York Super Lawyers (2006, 2008) *Inspiring Yale Award for the Yale Law School (2018) *Thurgood Marshall Award for Death Penalty Advocacy, Association of the Bar of the City of New York


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Mark 1960 births Living people American legal scholars New York (state) lawyers People from Dadeville, Alabama Yale Law School alumni Columbia Law School alumni American HIV/AIDS activists Bennington College alumni American health activists Activists from Alabama Ropes & Gray partners Brooklyn Law School faculty New York State Department of Health