Martin is a shareholder at Levin, Papantonio Rafferty. He has served as the managing shareholder, chief executive officer, chief financial officer, director of information systems, and co-director for the firm’s extensive mass torts department.

Martin resigned his leadership positions in 2001 in order to prepare for his transition to Harvard Divinity School, where he received his Master of Theology degree in 2004, and served on the Board of Advisors.

As a practicing trial attorney, Martin received more than 18 verdicts in excess of $1 million, including four verdicts in excess of $20 million. Twenty of his writings (including a book on closing arguments) have been published in legal journals. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell; earned his board certification with the National Board of Trial Advocacy and The Florida Bar; and was the designer and developer of SmartJURY™, a comprehensive jury selection program. Additionally, Martin served as an adjunct professor of trial law at Boston University School of Law and New England School of Law.

In 1998, Martin established, and currently serves as president of, the Levin & Papantonio Family Foundation. This non-profit foundation promotes individuals and organizations that care for and assist children with the basic needs of life – food, shelter, clothing, a safe home environment, and education. In 2001, the West Florida Association of Fundraising Professionals honored the Levin & Papantonio Family Foundation as West Florida’s “Outstanding Philanthropic Organization.” To date, the Foundation has contributed more than $18 million dollars.

Martin received his economics degree (with top honors) from Stanford University in 1985, and graduated number one in his law school class at the University of Florida in 1988. While at law school, he served as a senior editor on the Florida Law Review, as a member of Phi Delta Phi honorary fraternity, and as a member of The Order of the Coif. After law school, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Edward B. Davis, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida. In 2004, he earned his Master of Theology degree from Harvard University, and in 2010 he earned his Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University.

Year Joined Law Firm

• 1989

Areas of Practice

• Civil Trial Litigation

Bar Admissions

• Florida, admitted 1988
• District of Columbia, admitted 1989
• Alabama, admitted 1990
• U.S. Supreme Court, admitted 1991
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, admitted 1989
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida, admitted 1989
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, admitted 1989
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida, admitted 1990
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Alabama, admitted 1990
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Alabama, admitted 1990

Education

• Harvard University School of Public Health, 2010
  Master of Public Health
• Harvard University Divinity School, 2004
  Master of Theological Studies
• University of Florida College of Law, Gainesville, Florida, 1988
  Honors: Graduated Number One in Class
  Honors: Phi Delta Phi Honorary Fraternity
  Honors: Member, Order of the Coif
  Law Review: Florida Law Review, Senior Editor, 1987 – 1988
• Stanford University, 1985
  Honors: With Top Honors
  Major: Economics

Honors and Awards

• Martindale-Hubbell Rating—AV—the highest professional and ethical rating recognized by this exclusive and prestigious organization. The rating is based on an extensive and confidential survey of judges and lawyers.
• Escambia/Santa Rosa Bar Association President’s Award for Dedication to the Quality and Professionalism in the Legal Community, 2001.
• The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award for Escambia-Santa Rosa Counties, 1993.
• American Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division, Fall 1992 (selected as one of twenty young attorneys in the nation to make a difference in the legal profession).
• Senior Editor, Florida Law Review, University of Florida College of Law, Gainesville, FL: August 1987–July 1988.

Published Works

• Opening Statement, Florida Civil Trial Practice ch. 8 (LexisNexis, 4th ed. 1997, 5th ed. 1998, 6th ed. 2001, 7th ed. 2005).
• Closing Arguments: The Last Battle (Seville Publishing Company, 2003).
• Physician Assisted Suicide: Legality and Morality (Levin Papantonio, 2001).
• Closing Argument in an Adult Brain Injury Case (in Jacob Stein, Closing Argument Forum Selection: The Art and The Law § 463 pp. 256-268 (West Group Oct. 2001 Supplement)).
• Predicting Jury Results: An Art or a Game of Chance? 13 Trial Excellence 5, 8-12 (May 2001).
• I Thought My Closing Argument Was Proper, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyer Journal pp 15-17 (Aug. 1996).
• Sample Jury Questionnaire in Personal Injury Case, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 2 Ch 22 Subsec 221A, Supplement, 1995
• Sample Voir Dire Questionaire in Personal Injury Case, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 2 Ch. 22 Subsec 221B, Supplement, 1995
• Form Deposition Questions to Independent Medical Examiner, Handling Handling Accident Cases Vol. 4 Ch. 54 Subsec. 47A, Supplement, 1995
• Source List for Non-Party Production, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 1 Ch. 17 Subsec. 162A, Supplement, 1995
• Interrogatories and Request for Production of Documents in Trucking Accident Cases, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 4 Ch. 54 Subsecs. 48 & 49, Supplement, 1994
• Formal Settlement Demand in Trucking Accident Case, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 5 Ch. 66 Subsec. 192, Supplement, 1994
• Wrongful Death Complaint in Motor Vehicle Accident Case, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 5 Ch 66 Subsec. 192, Supplement, 1994
• Sample Complaint Against a Truck Driver and His Employer, Handling Motor Vehicle Accident Cases: Forms Subsec. 4:18.50, Supplement, 1994
• Deposing the Drivers, Passengers, Witnesses and Investigators in an Automobile Collision, Handling Motor Vehicle Accident Cases: Forms Subsecs. 4:41, 3:81.50; 3:81.75, Supplement, 1994
• Settlement Demands in an Automobile Case, Handling Motor Vehicle Accident Cases: Forms Subsec. 5:08.50 Supplement 1993-1994
• Discovery Techniques in Trucking Accident Cases, Handling Motor Vehicle Accident Cases; Forms Subsecs. 3:73.50 & 3:82.50, Supplement 1992-1994
• A Plaintiff’s Guide to Effective Opening Statements, 9 Verdicts, Settlements & Tactics 280-87 (Co-Author with Levin), September, 1989
• Reclaiming Marital Gifts Upon Dissolution, Family Law Commentator, 7-10, May, 1989
• The Jury in a Criminal Case: Obstacles to Impartiality, Crim. L. Bull. 492-520, Nov./Dec., 1988
• The American Judicial System: Should it, Does it, and Can It Provide an Impartial Jury to Criminal Defendants? Crim. Just. J., 89-124, Fall/Wtr., 1988
• I Thought My Closing Argument Was Proper, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Journal, August, 1996

Classes/Seminars Taught

• Adjunct Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA: 2007-2008
• Adjunct Professor of Law, New England School of Law, Boston, MA: 2006-2008