Sir Mark Potter was educated in Cambridge, first at Perse School, and then at Gonville & Caius College, where he studied law after completing national service in the Royal Artillery. He was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 1961, and became a tenant at Fountain Court Chambers. At the Bar, he specialised in international sale of goods, insurance, and shipping disputes. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1980, and became a Recorder in 1986. He was made a Judge of the Queen's Bench Division in 1988, and was nominated to sit in the Commercial Court. He was Judge In Charge of the Court in 1995, and was a Presiding Judge on the Northern Circuit from 1991 to 1994. He was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1996, and was President of the Family Division from 2005 to 2010 of the Court of Protection from 2007 to 2010. After retiring from the Bench in 2010, he returned to private practice as a commercial arbitrator.

Sir Mark enjoys golf and other sports.