While in law school, he was the recipient of the Raymond D. Naifeh Judicial Fellowship, and clerked for Oklahoma County District Judge Eugene H. Mathews. Prior to his law career, Mr. Markoff worked on the 1988 Presidential Campaign as National Advance Staff.
Mr. Markoff has spent the majority of his career working in Pharmaceutical Litigation, representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. In 2016, Mr. Markoff was appointed to the steering committee for Taxotere Litigation. In Re: Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation. MDL NO. 2740. Mr. Markoff was subsequently appointed co-chair of the Discovery Committee in the litigation.
Other pharmaceutical cases Mr. Markoff has been involved in include: Yaz Birth Control, Actos, Risperdal, Round-up Pesticide, IVC Filters, Talcum Powder, Xarelto, GranuFlo, Vioxx, Topamax, Propecia, and others.
Professional Affiliations include The American Association for Justice, The Oklahoma Association of Justice, Oklahoma Bar Association, Oklahoma City University School of Law, Board of Directors, 1996-1998, Oklahoma County Bar Association. Admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Mr. Markoff was one of the first lawyers in Oklahoma to represent women injured by silicone gel breast implants and the diet drug combination, fen-phen. Throughout his career, Mr. Markoff has assisted his clients in not just resolving their cases, but also trying to change laws to prevent future injuries for the same products. In 1997, Mr. Markoff worked with his client, Ronnie Freeman, in publicizing the danger of fen-phen, which was responsible for the death of Mr. Freeman’s wife, Josie.
Mr. Markoff also represented and assisted Lynn Starks, whose daughter, Whitney, was tragically strangled in a defectively designed bunk bed. Through tireless efforts, Ms. Starks was able to change the law in Oklahoma regarding bunk bed construction with the passage of the “Whitney Starks Act” in 1998. Ms. Starks then lobbied in Washington D.C. and helped persuade the Consumer Product Safety Commission to adopt the “Whitney Starks Bunk Bed Rule,” which went into effect in 1999, changing federal bunk bed safety standards from voluntary to mandatory.
Through interviews on CNN, The CBS Evening News, Cosmopolitan Magazine and others, their efforts raised public awareness of the dangers of the drug combination, which was eventually removed from the market.
In April of 2016, Mr. Markoff and his wife, Nataly, were blessed with the birth of their first child, Alexander David. Their second child, Anderson Pines was born in October of 2017. They are thrilled new parents, and excited to enjoy parenthood a bit later in life. In his spare time, Mr. Markoff is an avid rock climber and hiker. He also enjoys spending time salt water fishing and anything else outdoors.