About John S. Martin
John S. Martin served as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York for 13 years until his retirement in 2003. From 1980 to 1983 he served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. After his retirement from the Court he was Of Counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP until November 2006 when he joined Martin & Obermaier LLC. He retired from the practice of law on September 30, 2020. He will continue to serve as an arbitrator and as a consultant to law firms on complex litigation.
During his 13 years on the federal bench Judge Martin presided at numerous trials involving complex commercial disputes. He had responsibility for the $3.2 billion insurance coverage dispute between Silverstein Properties and its insurers raising the question of whether the attack on the World Trade Center was one or two occurrences. He tried cases involving patent infringement and insurance coverage for product liability claims and decided on the important issue of copyright and securities law. Since retiring from the Southern District Judge Martin has served as both party-appointed and neutral arbitrator in a broad range of cases including contract interpretation, insurance coverage, construction claims, accountant’s liability, and property damage including a $900 million dispute involving the construction of an electric power plant, insurance coverage disputes with claims in excess of $500 million, and disputes involving compensation due to senior executives as a result of the termination of their employment. He has also served as a moot court judge and as a consultant with respect to complex litigation.