UC to Present Honorary Degree to Alumnus and Top Trial Lawyer Billy Martin

The University of Cincinnati will bestow its highest award, an honorary doctorate, on nationally renowned trial lawyer and UC College of Law alumnus William R. “Billy” Martin during spring

Commencement ceremonies

. Martin will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the ceremony set for 9 a.m., Saturday, April 26, in Fifth Third Arena.

Consistently named one of the top trial lawyers in Washington, D.C. and throughout the United States, Martin, who is majority owner and founder of Martin & Gitner, PLLC, has tried more than 150 jury trials, many involving large corporations and leading figures in politics, sports and entertainment.

While Martin has made a name nationally through his representation in numerous high-profile cases, he has a diverse practice that also focuses on complex civil and white collar litigation before state and federal courts and in administrative hearings.

Martin also has substantial experience with internal investigations, serving extensively as an Integrity and Ethics Monitor on behalf of government agencies and courts in a variety of industries. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors of The American Arbitration Association and has experience both representing parties in arbitration, as well as serving as an arbitrator in private disputes. Most recently, he served as outside counsel to the United States House of Representatives Committee on Ethics in connection with its investigation of a Member of Congress. He is a frequent speaker on corporate responsibility and ethics.

After receiving his law degree from UC in 1976, Martin served as a city and federal prosecutor from 1976 until 1980 in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1980 he was appointed to serve as a Special Attorney in the Organized Crime Strike Force in San Francisco, a position he held for four years. He then moved from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., where he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for four years before being promoted to the Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, a position he held until he left the office to begin private practice.

Martin is a member of the D.C. Bar Association, the National Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and he is president of the Washington Bar Association. He has been listed in the National Law Journal’s “50 Most Influential Minority Attorneys,” and has ranked fourth in The Washingtonian’s list of “Top Lawyers. He has received numerous other distinctions.

Martin graduated from Howard University in 1973, where he pursued studies in business administration and political science, and is a recipient of Howard's Distinguished Alumni Award. In addition, he received the UC College of Law Distinguished Alumni Award in 2002.

See more on UC's upcoming spring Commencement:

• UC Readies for Record-Setting Commencement

• Botswana Ambassador Who Is UC Alumna Will Speak at Spring 2014 Commencement