Christopher Markos

Biography: Christopher Markos

Christopher Markos brings significant experience to the firm’s civil and human rights law practice. Public Interest advocacy has been his passion since law school, and he was recognized by the Rutgers-Camden School of Law with the prestigious Mary Philbrook Public Interest Award.

Mr. Markos began his legal career as Law Clerk to the Honorable Jose L. Fuentes of the New Jersey Superior Court- Appellate Division, conducting legal research and drafting bench memos, coordinating intake and advising Judge Fuentes on emergent matters.

Mr. Markos subsequently became a Legal Fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, specializing in free speech, privacy, due process and police misconduct. He successfully litigated cases involving the waiver or mitigation of old debts (both legitimate and alleged) incurred during the prosecution of criminal cases, and defended the privacy rights of public high school students whose participation in sports programs and extracurricular activities were being challenged and denied.

Along with colleagues Beth Cole and Gerald Williams, Mr. Markos was honored by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s Prisoner Civil Rights Panel for service to hundreds of prisoners injured as a result of unconstitutional conditions in the Philadelphia Prison System.

In presenting the award, The Honorable Judge M. Faith Angell noted that, between 2011 and 2014, the attorneys accepted judicial appointments to represent more than 900 former pro se plaintiffs and resolved the vast majority of the cases, with more than 500 resulting in individual settlements with the city and private medical providers.

Mr. Markos had an opinion piece printed in the Philadelphia Inquirer, “What the Pope Can Expect in Jail,” regarding Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to the city and to the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.

The Guardian, Britian’s national daily newspaper, contacted Mr. Markos for an interview in the article “Pope Francis’s Philadelphia Prison Visit highlights Crisis in U.S. Justice System” highlighting the overcrowded facility and pretrial detention.

Background & Qualifications

Below is an overview of Chris’s background and qualifications.

Education

• Rutgers College, 2007, B.A.
• Rutgers School of Law – Camden, 2010, J.D.

Bar Admissions

• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Middle District of Pennsylvania
• District of New Jersey
• Third Circuit Court of Appeals

Publications

• Empty Threats and Saber Rattling: Why the International Religious Freedom Act Provides a Better Solution to Combating Terrorism and Promoting Stability in Pakistan
• “What the Pope Can Expect in Jail,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 18, 2015
• “Pope Francis’s Philadelphia Prison Visit Highlights Crisis in U.S. Justice System,” The Guardian, September 21, 2015

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