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T.
Markus
Funk
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T. Markus Funk is a partner in Perkins Coie’s Litigation practice and a member of the firm’s Investigations & White Collar Defense group. In the summer of 2012, Law Week Colorado named Markus the state’s top corporate/compliance lawyer. In December 2012, Markus was named "Lawyer of the Year."
Markus represents corporate and individual clients in the areas of internal investigations, compliance, corporate white collar criminal defense, and complex commercial litigation. By way of example of Markus’ diverse practice, he is lead counsel in the first federal appellate challenge to the constitutionality of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (named the #1 corruption sentence of 2012 by the Wall Street Journal), has been retained by the University of Colorado to conduct an internal review relating to former student and "Colorado Theater Shooter" James Holmes, is the architect of dozens of compliance programs for U.S. and international companies of all sizes, has led numerous internal investigations and subsequent disclosures to the USDOJ and SEC, and represents individuals and companies in some of today’s most challenging and high-profile matters.
Markus also helped establish and co-chairs the firm's Corporate Social Responsibility and Supply Chain Practice (the first such specialized practice among the AmLaw100).
As a federal prosecutor in Chicago with ten years’ experience, Markus tried more than 24 federal cases (achieving convictions in all of them), headed hundreds of investigations, and indicted hundreds of cases and argued more than a dozen cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeal.
Described by the Chicago Sun-Times as a “street-smart prosecutor with an Oxford pedigree,” Funk and his team prosecuted "Operation Family Secrets," which National Public Radio in 2013 lauded as "one of the most important criminal investigations . . . in American history." Selected from some 9,000 federal trials that year to receive the "Attorney General's Award," the U.S. Attorney General personally presented Markus and the team with the highest trial performance distinction the Department bestows on federal prosecutors, a first for the Chicago U.S. Attorney's Office.
From 2004 - 06, Markus served as the Department of Justice Resident Legal Advisor for Kosovo, helping oversee the U.S.’s multi-million dollar efforts to bring the rule of law to this war-torn region. In that capacity, Markus represented the United States at diplomatic negotiations, led Balkan-wide efforts to modernize anti-corruption, anti-fraud, and anti-counterfeiting enforcement, and spear-headed the restructuring of Kosovo’s post-conflict justice system. Markus also worked with U.S. and foreign government officials and business leaders to fight labor trafficking and exploitation. During this time, Markus authored the Kosovo Trial Skills Handbook (USDOJ, 2006), which remains the most cited source in Kosovo's Compilation of Applicable Criminal Laws.
In recognition of his service while abroad, the U.S. Department of State conferred upon Markus its "Superior Honor Award," which is the highest general service award the State Department confers. Markus has the distinction of being the only person to have received both the Department of Justice's "Attorney General's Award" and the State Department's "Superior Honor Award."
In addition to authoring dozens of criminal law-related academic and popular articles, as well as book chapters on a wide variety of topics, Markus authored a number of books, including The Haiti Trial Skills Manual (American Bar Association, 2012), The Darfur Trial Skills Manual (American Bar Association, 2010), The Montenegro Trial Skills Manual (USDOJ, 2010), the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty Guide for Federal Judges (Federal Judicial Center, forthcoming), the Global Anti-Bribery and Corruption Survey (Oxford University Press, forthcoming), Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking: Examining the Global Challenges and U.S. Responses (Rowman Littlefield, 2012, co-authored with Chicago U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall), and Stemming the Suffering: Victims’ Rights and the International Criminal Court (Oxford University Press, 2010). His legal work has been featured by outlets such as The Atlantic, CNBC, CNN, The Economist, The History Channel, Investor’s Business Daily, The Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, The National Law Journal, National Geographic TV, the New York Times, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal.
Markus started his legal career as a law clerk to The Hon. Morris S. Arnold of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry, and as a Lecturer in Law at Oxford University.
 Connect with Markus via LinkedIn
Representative Matters
- Engaged by the University of Colorado to conduct an internal review relating to former student and "Colorado Theater Shooter" James Holmes.
- Leading the appeal for Haiti Teleco's Joel Esquenazi in first-of-its-kind appellate challenge against longest-ever FCPA sentence for an individual (the Wall Street Journal named it the #1 corruption sentence of 2012).
- Regularly advise corporate clients on the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, Executive Order Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts, Conflict Minerals, and other Corporate Social Responsibility and Supply Chain Compliance matters.
- Regularly counsel dozens Fortune 500 and other U.S. and foreign companies on a range of issues, including FCPA, foreign global anti-corruption enforcement, and export control compliance and due diligence.
- Conduct internal fraud, export control, FCPA, and other investigations in the United States and abroad (including in China, India, Canada, and South America).
- Guided FCPA disclosures to the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC, and regularly advise on various foreign anti-corruption regimes, including the UK Bribery Act, the German Anti-Corruption Act, India's Prevention of Corruption Act, and the Chinese Anti-Bribery Laws.
- Prevailed in Colorado Supreme Court on Westwood Colleges defamation suit against class action lawyers who defamed the college outside of the litigation.
- Counseled foreign government's Ministry of Commerce in export control dispute.
- Represented major university faculty chair during Department of Homeland Security investigation.
- Successfully counseled high-tech company during Department of Commerce and FBI export controls investigation.
- Represent individuals and companies implicated in insider trading, healthcare, mortgage fraud, bribery cases.
- Represented Veteran's Administration official in internal investigation.
- Represented individual in employment conflict with former German employer.
- Provided counsel and represent clients in multiple major global products liability litigation matters.
- Successfully argued, on behalf of a Fortune 50 company, that court should deny TRO lodged against employees.
Professional Recognition
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Named a "Colorado Super Lawyer," by Super Lawyers, 2013
- Named "Colorado Lawyer of the Year," by Law Week Colorado, 2012
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Named the "Barrister’s Best" (#1) Corporate/Compliance Lawyer In Colorado, 2012 
Professional Leadership
- ABA Special Advisor to the ABA Criminal Justice Section Council, 2012 - present
- ABA Business Law Section Working Group on Human Trafficking, 2012 - present
- ABA Section of International Law Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, Co-Chair, 2012 - present
- ABA Corporate Social Responsibility and Forced Labor Task Force, Co-Chair, 2012 - present
- ABA President's Task Force on Human Trafficking, Member, 2012 - present
- German American Lawyers Association, Member, 2012 - present
- Global Anti-Corruption Task Force, Co-Chair, 2010 - present
- ABA Litigation Magazine Editorial Board Member, 2010 - present
- BNA Criminal Law Reporter Advisory Board, Member, 2010 - present
- ABA Special Advisor to the Uniform Law Commission project on Human Trafficking, 2011
- ABA Haiti Task Force, Member, present (author of the Haiti Trial Skills Handbook)
- ABA Section of Litigation Special Committee on Human Trafficking, Co-Chair, 2008 - 2010
- ABA Section of Litigation Kosovo Task Force, Co-Chair, 2008
- ABA Darfur Task Force, Member, 2007
Community Involvement
Related Employment
Clerkships
- Hon. Morris S. Arnold, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1999 - 2000
- Hon. Catherine D. Perry, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, 1995 - 1997
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- University of Oxford, Ph.D.c.
- Northwestern University Law School, J.D., Senior Research Honors, 1995
Book Review Editor and Articles Editor, Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology
- University of Illinois, B.A. & B.S., Phi Beta Kappa, Bronze Tablet, summa cum laude, 1992
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
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