Bruce S. Marks (born March 14, 1957)
is an American attorney and politician who served as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
member of the
Pennsylvania State Senate for the 2nd district from 1994 to 1995.
Early life
Marks was born in
Clarksburg, West Virginia.
Education
Marks attended
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
where he graduated
cum laude with bachelor's degrees in economics and Russian.
He also studied Russian at the
Pushkin Institute
The Pushkin State Russian Language Institute and its dormitory tower, a building made out of prefabricated concrete slabs.
The Pushkin State Russian Language Institute (russian: Государственный институт русского ...
in Moscow, Russia, in 1980. Marks also received a JD from the
Law School of the University of Pennsylvania ''cum laude'', and an L.L.M. from the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
in 1984.
Political career
Marks served as counsel to Senator
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...
from 1985 to 1987, and then again from 1988 to 1989, before starting his own political career. In 1990, he ran for the
Pennsylvania State Senate, and then returned to private practice before running again in 1993.
In 1993, he was nominated by the GOP in a special election for the
2nd district in the
Pennsylvania Senate
The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ...
. In the initial as well as certified official results, he trailed
William G. Stinson. However, on February 17, 1994, federal judge
Clarence Charles Newcomer
Clarence Charles Newcomer (January 18, 1923 – August 22, 2005) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for more than 33 years.
Education and career
Newcomer was born in ...
declared him the winner, stating that the campaign of Philadelphia Democratic Party had engaged in election fraud by soliciting votes door-to-door in Philadelphian minority neighborhoods.
The decision was criticized as partisan by legal scholars and Democratic activists, as it invalidated all absentee ballots in the district, regardless of their validity. Critics pointed to Newcomer's history as an elected Republican and his appointment by Republican president
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, as well as the fact that the district had not elected a Republican since 1953, and a sudden surge of Republican votes in a majority-minority district was statistically unlikely. This ruling gave Republicans control of the Pennsylvania Senate, as the 1992 elections had resulted in a tie, with Democratic lieutenant governor
Mark Singel
Mark Stephen Singel (born September 12, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 27th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995, alongside Governor Bob Casey. Singel served as the state's acting governor from June 14, 1993 t ...
breaking ties.
Marks was seated in the Senate on April 28, 1994.
In 1994, Marks was defeated for re-election by
Christine Tartaglione, who has served in the seat since.
Electoral history
Private practice
Marks started his legal career at
Morgan Lewis & Bockius
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,200 legal professionals in 31 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Mergers with other law firms stimulated global growth and led to ...
, where was an attorney in the Business & Finance and Government Regulations sections in 1984-85 and 1987-88. In 1990, after running for Pennsylvania Senate, he joined Spector Gadon & Rosen, P.C., where he became a partner in the litigation department and remained until 1998. Before founding Marks & Sokolov, L.L.C. in 2001, Bruce was founding member of Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev, and Marks, L.L.C. from 1998 through 2001.
Marks & Sokolov, L.L.C., founded by Marks, is a boutique law firm with offices in Philadelphia, U.S. and Moscow, Russia, specializing in international and multijurisdictional litigation and arbitration.
Marks represents Western, Russian and Ukrainian clients in commercial disputes and advises on cross-border corporate work. He has extensive litigation experience pertaining to the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and testified on its extraterritorial application in Russian court in the
Bank of New York Mellon
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Fina ...
matter where the Russian government sought $22.5 billion in damages arising from a money laundering scandal.
For over a decade Marks has been representing applicants and respondents in multiple matters unde
28 U.S.C. §1782 a statute that allows litigants in foreign disputes to gain discovery in the U.S. through federal courts and authored publications on the topic.
In addition, Marks has engaged in a number of litigation in having Russian bankruptcies recognized under Chapter 15 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, obtaining nationwide discovery and the turnover of assets.
Representation of President Trump
In 2016, as a result of his connection with then-
President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
arising from his 1994 campaign, Marks was engaged by the Trump campaign to defend a lawsuit filed by the
Pennsylvania Democratic Party
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg and is the largest political party in the state. Its chair is Senator Sharif Street.
Governor Tom Wo ...
in federal court, stating that the Trump campaign and
Pennsylvania Republican Party
The Pennsylvania Republican Party (PAGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg.
History
Founding
The party was founded on November 27, 1854, in Towanda ( Bradford County) b ...
intended to engage in voter suppression targeted at minority communities in Philadelphia.
In 2020, Marks was engaged by President Trump’s reelection campaign to advise on litigation related to the
2020 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania
The 2020 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Pennsylvania voters ...
. Marks, along with Professor
John Eastman
John Charles Eastman (born 1960) is an American lawyer who is the founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm affiliated with the conservative think tank Claremont Institute. He is a former profe ...
, filed a petition with the
Supreme Court of the United States challenging the 2020 election results based on
false claims that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court illegally changed election law, resulting in the counting of sufficient illegal ballots to change the result and cost Trump the election. The petition contained no supporting arguments that were not previously dismissed by other federal courts and state courts, and contained no evidence so-called 'illegal ballots'. The petition was dismissed, and both the Pennsylvania Secretary of State and Congress certified
Joe Biden as the president-elect.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Bruce
Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators
Politicians from Philadelphia
Living people
1957 births
Lawyers from Clarksburg, West Virginia
Politicians from Clarksburg, West Virginia