Faculty Bios

Kent Markus
Associate Professor of Law 
B.S., Northwestern University, 1981
J.D., cum laude, Harvard Law School, 1984 

Professor Markus is currently on a leave of absence from the Law School to serve as Governor Ted Strickland's chief legal counsel.

Professor Markus is an Associate Professor of Law at Capital University Law School. He was the founding director of the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy, the only institution in the country exclusively dedicated to child welfare and adoption systemic reform. He teaches in an extensive array of fields including Adoption Law, Criminal Law, Administrative Law, Remedies, Ethics, Legislation, along with a course on Baseball & The Law. He serves on the Boards of the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, Franklin County Children Services and SEARCH (The National Consortium for Justice Information & Statistics). At the request of the Mayor of Columbus, he is currently chairing a multi-jurisdictional, multi-disciplinary Neighborhood Safety Working Group aimed at increasing public safety and reducing crime in Central Ohio. Prior to coming to Capital as a visiting professor in 1998, Professor Markus was the deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Justice Department and the highest-ranking advisor – Counselor – to Attorney General Janet Reno. During his five years at the Justice Department, Professor Markus was responsible for the national implementation of the Brady Law and the 1994 Crime Act; he established and was the first director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) (responsible for putting 100,000 new community policing officers on America's streets); he managed the Department's dealings with Congress; and he was the point person for the Department on crime policy, particularly juvenile crime and gun violence. Prior to joining the Justice Department, Professor Markus was the chief of staff at the Democratic National Committee and before that, chief of staff for former Ohio Attorney General Lee Fisher. Earlier in his career, Professor Markus worked at law firms in Australia, Alaska and Washington, D.C., before returning home to clerk for U.S. District Judge Alvin I. "Buddy" Krenzler, and to practice law and teach at Cleveland State University Law School. On Capitol Hill, Professor Markus worked for former U.S. House Speakers Carl Albert and Tip O'Neill and was special advisor to former House Rules Committee Chairman, Richard Bolling.

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