Katherine A. Markel
Partner

Overview
Katherine Markel is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Tysons office. Ms. Markel focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and represents founder-led, bootstrapped companies, private equity funds and independent sponsors.
In her practice, Ms. Markel works with companies from a wide range of industries, with particular emphasis on software services, information technology, cybersecurity, government contracting, property technology (PropTech) and professional trades. Serving as outside general counsel for both founder-owned and private equity-backed companies, Ms. Markel also routinely counsel clients on commercial transactions and general corporate and securities matters, including private placements and venture capital and growth equity investments.
Ms. Markel brings a broad perspective to Holland & Knight and its representation of corporate clients. She previously served as an associate general counsel at the University of Michigan, one of the world's leading research universities, where she negotiated information technology and procurement contracts, as well as managed governance and conflict of interest matters, among other practice areas. In addition, she has served as an associate general counsel for a rapidly growing venture-backed technology company in Seattle. Through this experience, Ms. Markel gained a first-hand understanding of the concerns faced by growing companies, which has allowed her to offer practical advice to clients. She also practiced in the corporate group at a law firm in Seattle, where she focused on representing clients in highly regulated industries.
Representative Experience
- Representation of a medical software provider in its $109 million sale to a private equity firm
- Representation of a cybersecurity government contractor in its $71 million sale to a private equity firm
- Representation of a value-added reseller in the government contracting industry to a strategic acquirer with foreign ownership for $61.5 million
- Representation of a software technology company in its $310 million sale to a private equity firm
- Representation of a public company in a divestiture of government facility operations and maintenance business to a private equity-backed company
- Representation of a private equity-backed professional trades contractor in several add-on acquisitions and eventual sale of platform
- Representation of a private equity-backed government contractor in acquisition of an intelligence solutions company and subsequent $475 million sale of entire platform
- Representation of a private equity fund in acquisition of a defense technology and engineering contractor
- Representation of an independent sponsor in the acquisition of a state and local government contractor
- Representation of a back-end software company for home healthcare providers in receiving a growth equity investment and acquisition of a billing services business
- Representation of a government contractor in receiving $150 million in growth equity
- Representation of a small business government contractor in receiving a venture capital investment
- Representation of a private equity fund in a growth equity investment in an international consulting business
Credentials
- University of Michigan Law School, J.D., cum laude
- Whitman College, B.A.
- Michigan
- Virginia
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Tysons Corporate Law & Mergers and Acquisitions Law Ones to Watch, 2024, 2025
- Holland & Knight Rising Star, Class of 2024
- Rising Star, Virginia Super Lawyers magazine, 2019