Dr. Mark Paist

Biography

Mark Paist is an Adjunct Clinical Professor at the University of Michigan Law School, specializing in the International Transactions Clinic. With over 30 years of legal practice, he has developed a significant career representing clients globally in a variety of complex finance and corporate transactions, with a primary focus on international development. In private practice, he has represented lenders, investors, and companies in project financing, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments, and structured finance transactions. In 2009, he joined the legal department of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the predecessor agency to the International Development Finance Corporation, where he supported the agency's mission of financing international development projects by providing political risk insurance to investors abroad. He was ultimately appointed as associate general counsel for project finance, supervising line attorneys and managing a multibillion-dollar portfolio of large-scale infrastructure development projects. In 2018, Paist relocated to Casablanca, Morocco, to serve as principal legal counsel for Africa50, an investment fund platform established to bridge funding gaps for infrastructure development on the African continent, where he played a key role in developing and financing essential projects. He returned to the United States in late 2023.

Research Interests

Experience