MARCUS A. CLIFTON has an extensive career filled with experiences gained through  working in the retail and entertainment industries. Born and raised in the small town  of Portsmouth, VA, Clifton started his professional career in retail straight out of his  undergraduate studies in Marketing. In 1993, Clifton joined the Kmart Corporation  (“Kmart”) as an Assistant Fashions Manager and was immediately thrusted into a  leadership role on the first day of work when his training manager was forced to take  sick leave for four weeks. There, he achieved notoriety for having the ability to step into  a situation and transform the environment within a short period of time. Clifton became  somewhat of a traveling management relief professional for Kmart before deciding to purse  his legal studies.

 After a two year stint with Kmart, Clifton began his legal studies. After two and one half  years of course work he started his career in entertainment as an extern with Black Entertainment Television (“BET”) where  he completed his final term of law school. After completing his BET externship, he was asked to stay on as a consultant as he  studied for the New York bar exam. After successfully taking and passing the New York bar exam, Clifton worked for Black  Entertainment Television as an independent contractor as a Consulting Attorney, working directly with BET staff attorneys