David Oscar Markus is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School. The National Law Journal selected him as one of the top 40 litigators in the country under 40 years old, and it has recognized one of his recent trial victories in federal court as one of the top ten defense verdicts in the country that year.  In a recent trial victory, David not only beat all 141 counts in federal court for a doctor, but then won attorneys' fees and costs of over $600,000 for his client in a first-of-its-kind victory.  Based on that case, he was awarded the highest honor -- the Rodney Thaxton "against all odds" award -- by the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In 2010, he was one of eight finalists in the country for best white-collar criminal lawyer in the country by Chambers & Partners, which quoted market sources saying that David is "the whole package," and "a creative, courageous and tenacious courtoom advocate."  And he was named to that very prestigious short list of 8 best white-collar criminal defense lawyers again in 2011 (he was the only lawyer listed not from a large firm).

While at Harvard, he argued in front of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy who named him best oralist. After graduating from Harvard, David served as law clerk to the Honorable Edward B. Davis, then-Chief United States District Judge, Southern District of Florida. Following his clerkship, David worked as an associate at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., and then practiced as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Miami.

David is admitted to practice in the state courts of Florida, and numerous federal courts including the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal Court of Claims, the Federal Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

David is a past-president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers - Miami Chapter and past-president of the Federal Bar Association, South Florida Chapter, 2007-08. He is the Southern District of Florida's national representative for the Criminal Justice Act Panel, and is the vice-chair of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer's amicus committee (where he recently was part of the team that invalidated Florida's drug law -- read the brief here). David also used to co-author the Fourth Amendment Forum, published in NACDL's The Champion. He is frequently asked to serve on committees for the Southern District of Florida.

David has lectured on different aspects of the criminal trial and appeal, has taught legal writing at the University of Miami School of Law, and has taught advanced criminal procedure at Florida International University College of Law. This semester (Fall 2011), he will be teaching White Collar Law at FIU.  He also speaks to other criminal defense lawyers on ethics and zealously representing criminal defendants charged with serious crimes. He is frequently named as one of the top lawyers in Florida by SuperLawyers, the Best Lawyers in America, South Florida Legal Guide, Florida Trend Magazine, Chambers & Partners, and the South Florida Business Journal. The 2011 and 2010 SuperLawyers listed Markus as one of the top 100 lawyers in Florida, and the 2009 Chambers & Partners said that Markus is a "man who gets consistently great results.” 

David has been quoted in publications around the country, including The Miami Herald, The Sun-Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, the Daily Business Review, USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Law.com, and CNN.com. He has written opinion pieces for the Miami Herald, and is the author of the popular Southern District of Florida blog.

David is committed to zealously representing each and every one of his clients.  He takes each case personally and does not like to lose. 

You can email David at dmarkus@markuslaw.com

BY READING THESE WEB PAGES YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THE FIRM CANNOT GUARANTEE RESULTS BASED ON PRIOR CASES OR SUCCESS.  EACH CASE IS DIFFERENT.  Front page picture from the Sun-Sentinel, after David Oscar Markus celebrates the acquittal of Gale Fontaine, who reacts with tears of joy. Markus & Markusis a nationally recognized trial and appellate boutique law firm that is known for taking on very difficult cases and winning.  The named partners of the firm -- David Oscar Markus and Mona E. Markus-- are honors graduates of Harvard Law School.  Throughout his career, David Markus has zealously and successfully represented defendants in high-stakes litigation at the trial level all the way to the Supreme Court.  For example, David recently took on the government in a 141-count federal indictment and won every count at trial.  He takes part in all of the Firm's cases, which at the present time includes executives and professionals charged with white collar offenses such as criminal antitrust, tax fraud, OFAC, mortgage fraud, medicare fraud, RICO, and securities fraud. Similarly, Mona Markus was part of the trial and appellate team that obtained a billion dollar verdict against Exxon in federal court and made it stick before the United States Supreme Court.  In addition to leading the Firm's motion and appellate practice, she is currently representing a doctor charged with OFAC and tax violations in federal court in Portland, Oregon.  In addition to David and Mona, the Firm is lucky to have Margot Moss and Robin Kaplan-- two highly skilled and experienced lawyers who have achieved enormous success for their clients.  Margot has tried more than 100 cases to verdict and while at the public defender's office was tasked with training young lawyers.  Her latest trial (in August 2011) resulted in a not guilty across the board before Judge Adalberto Jordan in federal court.  She is currently representing a high-level executive in a complex RICO case involving over 800 RICO acts and another executive in a criminal antitrust investigation. Robin has tried some of the largest cases in the Southern District of Florida, including the case discussed above with David in which they obtained a not guilty verdict on 141 counts.  She is currently representing a former vice-president of an airline charged with criminal antitrust violations and a lawyer charged with mortgage fraud in federal court. The Firm handles a very small number of cases at any given time so that it can dedicate its full energy to each and every case it takes.  Highlights of the Firm's founder -- David Oscar Markus: Magna cum laude from Harvard Law School Top 40 litigator under 40 years old (National Law Journal) Top Lawyer, White Collar Criminal Defense and non-White Collar Criminal Defense, Best Lawyers in America by U.S. News (2007-present) President, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (Miami) 2006-07 President, Federal Bar Association (Miami Chapter) 2007-08 Top Law Firm (South Florida Legal Guide), 2006-present Top Miami Criminal Lawyer (South Florida Legal Guide), 2002-present SuperLawyer (Florida SuperLawyers), 2006-present; Top 100 SuperLawyer in Florida 2010  South Florida's Best Lawyers 2011 South Florida Business Journal Key Partners Award 2011 AV Rated (Martindale Hubbell) Top Lawyer (Chambers & Partners), 2007-present Finalist (one of only eight), Best White Collar Attorney in the United States 2010 and 2011 (Chambers & Partners) According to the 2011 Chambers & Partners, "David Markus comes highly recommended fo rhis criminal defense work.  Clients describe him as 'a charming man of genius intellect, who throws himself into his work to achieve the best results for his clients.'"  The 2010 Chambers & Partners had this to say:  "David Markusof David Oscar Markus PLLC is 'the whole package,' according to market sources. 'A creative, courageous and tenacious courtoom advocate.' Peers cite as evidence of this the "stunning acquittal"he achieved in the Dr. Ali Shaygan case, which resulted in the dismissal of all 141 counts against his client and a court order to refund $600,000 in costs due to government misconduct." After a recent trial with reggae star Buju Banton, one newspaper compared him to Clarence Darrow and Johnnie Cochran.
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