William J. Martinez
By Allie Winter and Matt Masich, LAW WEEK COLORADO
President Barack Obama today nominated Denver labor lawyer William Martinez for one of two open judgeships on the seven-seat U.S. District Court for Colorado. Martinez must face a confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
Martinez was born Jose Guillermo Martinez Escalante in Mexico City. According to a questionnaire required of all judge nominees and published below, he changed it to William Joseph Martinez in 1974. He attended the University of Chicago Law School and after leaving Illinois, Martinez worked at many places including Denver law firm Pendleton Friedberg Wilson & Hennessey and at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Denver office. He’s also been an adjunct professor at the University of Denver College of Law since 1992, worked as a sole practitioner at the Law Office of William J. Martinez and is currently a partner at McNamara & Martinez, which, in 2007, expanded to McNamara Roseman Martinez & Kazmierski.
Martinez has been named a Colorado Super Lawyer twice, a fellow in the Colorado Bar Association and one of the Best Lawyers in America. He was president of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association in 2008 and has had many writings published in publications such as the Journal of the National Employment Lawyers Association and the Journal of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
Martinez’s full questionnaire is published here:
