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May 9, 2008
175th Hooding brings to town lawyer who represented NFL great Michael Vick, Senator Larry Craig, and Cincinnati during a Justice Department investigation.
University of Cincinnati College of Law alumnus, nationally known litigator, and skilled negotiator William R. “Billy” Martin ‘76 will address students at the College of Law’s 175th Hooding Ceremony, May 17, 2008. The ceremony will be held at the Aronoff Center for the Arts beginning at 1:00 p.m. until 2:45 p.m. Approximately 125 students will graduate this year.
This year’s Hooding Ceremony, presided over by Dean Louis D. Bilionis, will feature alumnus Max R. Huffman ’98 as the recipient of the Nicolas Longworth, III Alumni Achievement Award, and Professors Margaret Drew, A. Christopher Bryant, and Christo Lassiter as the recipients of the Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching Award. The ceremony is the culmination of the law school’s year-long 175th Anniversary celebration, which featured visits from alumnus President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court “William Howard Taft” and attorneys/authors Scott Turow and John Grisham.
Martin, the son of a Pittsburg, P.A. steelworker, is a partner in the Washington D.C. division of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP. He heads the Litigation Group, leading the firm’s white collar criminal defense practice. Martin began his legal career in Cincinnati as an assistant city attorney. From there, he went to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Dayton, OH, in San Francisco, CA, and in Washington, D.C. While working for the Justice Department he handled high profile cases such as the investigation of a top Chicago crime family; the oversight of the organized crime task force in San Francisco, including the federal witness-protection program; and the prosecution of former Washington D.C. mayor Marion Barry, arrested in a FBI drug sting and eventually convicted.
In 1990 Martin went into private practice. Since then, his cases have included serving as counsel for Marcia Lewis, Monica Lewinsky’s mother, after her grand jury testimony; providing legal representation for murdered student Chandra Levy’s parents; representing former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell on racketeering, bribery and wire fraud charges; defending former NBA player Jayson Williams, charged with first-degree manslaughter; defending former NFL star Michael Vick during the Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting investigation; and, most recently representing Idaho Senator Larry Craig in his efforts to have his disorderly conduct conviction overturned and expunged.
Martin is best known in Cincinnati as the top Washington lawyer who helped guide the city through the Justice Department’s investigation of the city’s police division during the early 2000s.
Contact Information:
Sherry English
513.556.0090
sherry.english@uc.edu
