Prestigious Occasional Honor Awarded to Person or Organization/Legal Service Provider Who Has Done the Most for Victims of Crime

DENVER, Colo. and BOSTON, Mass (August 11, 2014) - Perkins Coie is honored to announce that T. Markus Funk, a partner in the firm’s Denver office, has received the 2014 Frank Carrington Crime Victim Attorney Award.  Presented by the Criminal Justice Section (CSJ) of the American Bar Association (ABA), the Frank Carrington Crime Victim Attorney Award is given to the attorney or legal service provider (including organizations) who has either directly represented specific victims in criminal, juvenile, or appellate courts or who has worked to promote or implement policies to improve the treatment of crime victims in the criminal justice system.  

Among the reasons cited by the ABA in selecting Markus for the Frank Carrington Crime Victim Attorney Award were his:

• Multi-year efforts in Kosovo while serving with the U.S. State Department as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Section Chief fighting human trafficking and advocating for victims’ rights by drafting witness protection, anti-human trafficking, and victim compensation legislation;

• Recognition by the U.S. Attorney’s Office award in context of historic “Family Secrets” mob prosecution;

• Pro bono work on crime and trafficking-victim visa program;

• Role as Chair of the ABA Human Trafficking and Organized Crime Task Force; and

• Books and other publications, including Victims’ Rights and Advocacy at the International Criminal Court (Oxford University Press, 2012).

Markus received his award on August 7, 2014, at the ABA annual meeting in Boston where Neil R. Sonnett, Former Chair of the ABA’s Criminal Justice Section, said:

Markus, probably the only person to ever have received the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. State Department’s highest awards, and former federal prosecutor, throughout his career has tirelessly dedicated himself to the plight of victims of crime.  He, therefore, is well-deserving of – and received unanimous approval to receive - this prestigious award that is conferred on the person or organization who has done the most to advance the interests of crime victims in the United States.

Before going into private practice in 2010, Markus served as a decorated Chicago federal prosecutor, and as Section Chief for the U.S. State Department in the Balkans.  Markus taught law at, among others, Oxford University, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center, and served as law clerk to Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Morris S. Arnold anddge Catherine D. Perry.

His practice today focuses on internal investigations, complex commercial li appellate levels, white collar criminal defense, corporate social responsibility and supply chain compliance and corporate counseling.  Markus has the distinction of being the only person to have received both the U.S. Department of Justice’s Attorney General’s Award (2008) and the U.S. State Department’s Superior Honor Award (2007).  Additional professional accolades include being named “Colorado Lawyer of the Year” (Law Week Colorado, 2012), ranked in Chambers USA 2012 - 2014) and recognized as Invited Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (2013 - present).  Markus earned his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law, where he was Book Review Editor and Articles Editor of the Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology.  He received his B.A. and B.S. (Phi Beta Kappa, Bronze Tablet, summa cum laude) from the University of Illinois, and is a Ph.D.c. from the University of Oxford.

About Frank Carrington:  Frank Carrington is often referred to as the “father of the crime victims’ rights movement in America.”  He founded and served as Executive Director of the Victims Assistance Legal Organization (VALOR) in Virginia, was a Director of the National Organization for Victims Assistance and was a member of the California Attorney General’s Commission on Victims.  He served on the Attorney General’s Task Force on Violent Crime and the President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime.  From 1980-82, Frank was Vice-Chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section’s Victims Committee.  In addition, Frank was a Director of the National Center for Victims of Crime and the creator of the Civil Justice Database that, today, has more than 12,000 major appellate cases in the area of crime victim litigation.

About the ABA:  The ABA, with nearly 400,000 members, is one of the world’s largest voluntary professional organizations.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.  The CSJ of the ABA has over 20,000 members including prosecutors, private defense counsel, appellate and trial judges, law professors, correctional and law enforcement personnel, law students, public defenders, and other criminal justice professionals.  The CSJ has primary responsibility for the ABA’s work on solutions to issues involving crime, criminal law, and the administration of criminal and juvenile justice.

Perkins Coie is a leading international law firm that is known for providing high-value, strategic solutions and extraordinary client service on matters vital to our clients’ success. With more than 1,200 lawyers in offices across the United States and Asia, we provide a full array of corporate, commercial litigation, intellectual property, and regulatory legal advice to a broad range of clients, including many of the world’s most innovative companies and industry leaders as well as public and not-for-profit organizations.

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