On June 22, Greg Martin died following a short illness, according to his family. The long career of the seasoned and celebrated trial lawyer stretched more than 60 years.
But Martin may be best remembered by colleagues and friends not for his many accomplishments, but for the way he practiced law.
“It wasn’t just about the case,” said Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Co-managing Partner Franz Hardy. He explained that Martin would often take the time to approach opposing counsel, shake hands and ask you about what you were working on.
“At the time, I just happened to be the president of the Denver Bar Association, and [Martin] acknowledged that, and he made sure to point that out as something that he was interested in and proud to see,” Hardy said.
Hardy said that, for Martin, it was as much about how he carried himself as an attorney as it was about the cases themselves. “You can tell with Greg, it was important to him to develop a good relationship with opposing counsel, in addition to doing the best he could on the case.”
Martin’s professional accomplishments were extensive. He was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1982, later serving a term as the Colorado State Chairman. He was recognized as a “Living Legend” in 2015 by the American Board of Trial Advocates and was honored with the Award of Merit in 2000 by the Boulder County Bar Association in addition to serving as a past president of the bar.
Martin was a founding member of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice and he was a member of the board of governors of both the Colorado Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
“He was a lawyer for the right reasons,” – Polsinelli Shareholder Don Samuels
Polsinelli Shareholder Don Samuels said Martin seemed to be most passionate about the law itself. “He would be always interested in the cases I was working on and what I was doing, and his eyes would twinkle when he talked about the law,” Samuels explained. “He clearly had a reverence for the practice of the law and what he did, and servicing and helping people and advocating for them in court. He was a lawyer for the right reasons.”
Both Samuels and Hardy said they thought Martin was a model of what a lawyer should be in many ways.
“He never told me who he was or what he had accomplished or how long he had been practicing,” Hardy said. “I never got the feeling he was patting me on the head or patronizing me, or he had done this a long time and I hadn’t, or any of these dynamics that sometimes you can see with someone more senior than you.”
Martin had a way of making it sound like he was proud of your accomplishments too, according to Hardy. He said he felt Martin genuinely cared about what you were giving back to the legal community.
Marsh Riggs, Martin’s former law partner, said he seemed to be most passionate about helping people who were injured get fair settlements. In particular, Martin seemed to gravitate toward representing people who were injured as a result of negligent action by other parties.
“He was very outgoing and friendly to most everybody. And I could say gregarious, I’m not sure that’s the right word, but he was very personable,” Riggs said.
He noted that Martin cared deeply about his clients. While the work he did in personal injury was sometimes very complex, Riggs explained that Martin would do everything he could to help his clients.
Former Boulder County Court Judge John Stavely said he knew Martin before he went to law school, back when he played football at the University of Colorado. He said he started working with Riggs, Martin and Martin’s other former law partner Steve Ehrhart at their 13th Street office in downtown Boulder before he took the plunge and went to law school.
“He was the epitome of grace, and I learned from him that you could be a fierce competitor and still be kind and civil, not only to the judge, but to the other side,” Stavely said. “He taught me so many things that I remembered all the way through law school, until the time I became an attorney, until the time I became both a municipal and a state court judge. His lessons lived with me for decades.”
“He was the epitome of grace, and I learned from him that you could be a fierce competitor and still be kind and civil, not only to the judge, but to the other side,” – Former Boulder County Court Judge John Stavely
Stavely explained it was simply a privilege to know Martin. “I’ve told a number of people that Greg was my first legal mentor, and he just made people comfortable. He had a warm, welcoming disposition, and it was very comfortable just being around him.”
Hardy and Stavely both characterized Martin’s down-to-earth way of practicing the law. While Hardy noted Martin’s way of working with opposing counsel made him feel like the practice was returning to a golden era of civility, Stavely said Martin’s way was often to battle hard in the courtroom and then go out and have a drink with opposing counsel.
“He was the prototypical Boulderite,” Stavely said. “I mean, even in his 80s, probably his early 90s, he was still riding his bike — super fit, super funny. He was just the Renaissance man.” Stavely explained Martin’s smarts, humor and civility marked some of the core elements of who he was.
Samuels said he knew Martin dating back to sometime in 2014 after he met, and later married, the widow of Martin’s son, Brent Martin. Samuels explained the Martins always treated him and his wife like they were part of the family. When he was around Martin, he said he felt energized about the law and happy in general.
Martin grew up in the San Luis Valley and was preceded in death by his parents Orpha Martin and Elmer Martin, his son Brent Martin and his sister Mary Lou Welch. He is survived by his wife Betty Martin, son Michael Martin and his spouse Ronda Martin, son Scot Martin and his spouse Cheryl Martin, daughter Susan Martin, former daughter-in-law Jennifer Samuels and her spouse Don Samuels, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Martin graduated from the University of Colorado Law School in 1959 and was an ardent supporter of the university after graduating. The Martins were honored for their contributions to the school during a halftime ceremony at the Colorado versus Utah football game in 2018.
He was also an avid fan of CU’s football team and had season tickets — something Stavely joked didn’t hurt his chances at being hired initially by Martin.
“I’m just lucky that I had a chance to get to know him,” Stavely said. “I’ve had so many people tell me that Greg was a big influence in their life as young attorneys as well. So that’s always a good sign.”