Faculty Profile: Mark Fulks

Mark A. Fulks is University Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at East Tennessee State University, a position that he assumed in August 2019.  He supervises the Office of University Counsel’s legal staff the following areas of law: First Amendment, FERPA, HIPAA, employment, contracts, health care, immigration, cybersecurity, construction disputes, open records, public policy and rulemaking, NCAA compliance, and various regulatory matters.  He also manages the university’s compliance efforts and supervises the Office of University Compliance, which handles investigations under Title VII and Title IX.

Before joining ETSU, Mr. Fulks worked in Baker Donelson’s Johnson City office, where he was a member of the Advocacy Department and represented clients in civil litigation.  Most notably, he represented financial institutions and special servicers in a broad array of legal matters, including bankruptcy, judicial and non-judicial foreclosures, receiverships, lender liability claims, and guarantor recovery.  He also represented business clients in employment cases and commercial litigation.

He maintains an active pro bono practice, representing indigent clients before the Tennessee trial and appellate courts in various matters, including divorce, conservatorships, and criminal defense.

Mr. Fulks is also a dedicated public servant. He served as a prosecutor in the Criminal Justice Division of the Tennessee Attorney General's Office for more than a dozen years, and he continues to handle criminal prosecutions from time to time as a District Attorney General Pro Tem.

A frequent seminar speaker, Mr. Fulks has lectured for the National College of District Attorneys, the Tennessee District Attorney Generals Conference, the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, the Tennessee Bar Association, the Memphis Bar Association, and the Lebanon Bar Association. Seminar topics have included appellate practice, legal writing, employment law, criminal law, and search and seizure, among others. He has also taught undergraduate courses in American Government, Public Policy, and Law and the Legal System.

Mr. Fulks is the author of more than 20 articles on various legal subjects, including a biography of Judge August Noble Hand and essays on prosecutorial misconduct, libertarianism, strict constructivism and appellate practice. 

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