Biography

John S. Martel, who joined the firm in 1964, is a veteran of over 100 trials with but four losses. His legal expertise covered a wide range of practices including antitrust and securities litigation, leasing disputes, construction litigation, banking services, insurance defense, and trade regulation.

John tried major cases of all kinds, all across the United States. In 1968, for example, a Richmond, Virginia jury awarded his antitrust plaintiff the highest verdict in the history of the State. In 1978, he represented the Bank of America and its subsidiary in lengthy hearings before an Administrative Law Judge in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. against market concentration charges, obtaining a favorable ruling. In 1979, he was matched against ex-mayor Joseph Alioto in a fraud/antitrust case, and successfully represented the Robert Mondavi Winery in the highly publicized two-month Krug-Mondavi trial. In 1981, John successfully defended the Hearst Corporation, the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle in a three-month federal jury trial involving a landmark antitrust battle.

He was a frequent contributor to law reviews, (including articles such as “Fair Trial vs. Free Press in Criminal Trials”, California Law Review, 1959 and “Judicial Application of the Newspaper Preservation Act”, Brigham Young University Law Review, 1984). He lectured at the Hastings’ Center for Trial and Appellate Advocacy (where he served on the Advisory Council) on the handling of expert witnesses and was a guest speaker and panelist in various other law-related seminars nationwide. John also served as a consultant to other trial lawyers on matters of trial strategy, jury selection, and expert testimony. He was asked to serve as consultant to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office in the Simpson case and the second Menendez case.

The National Law Journal profiled John as among the top 10 trial lawyers in the nation and he was listed for more than a decade in Best Lawyers in America.

Memberships and Affiliations

  • National Chairperson for the Heritage Committee, American College of Trial Lawyers, 2013
  • American Board of Trial Advocates
  • Board of Governors, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, Northern California, 1990-1992
  • Fellow, Board of Regents, American College of Trial Lawyers, 1994-1998
  • California State Chairman, American College of Trial Lawyers, 1985-1986

Firm Highlights

Publication

Employment Law Update for Nonprofits With Holly Sutton

Welcome to  EO Radio Show - Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . Charities, foundations, and their founders often request help addressing employment practices and compliance questions. In this episode, host Cynthia Rowland is joined by Holly...

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News

Farella Announces 2024 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Pathfinders: Taylor Rottjakob and John Ugai

Farella Braun + Martel is proud to announce that senior associates  Taylor E. Rottjakob and John M. Ugai have been named 2024 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinders. Pathfinders have been identified as...

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Publication

Nonprofit Quick Tip: State Filings in North Carolina and South Carolina

Welcome to  EO Radio Show - Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . Episode 75 is the tenth in a series of Quick Tip episodes focusing on the details of state registration of nonprofit corporations. With...

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News

North Coast Industry Insiders Weigh In on Why California Cannabis Tax Revenue Slipped in 2023

Jeff Hamilton spoke to Susan Wood with the North Bay Business Journal for the article "North Coast Industry Insiders Weigh In on Why California Cannabis Tax Revenue Slipped in 2023." Read the article with Jeff's...

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Publication

Corporate Transparency Act: A Guide on Beneficial Ownership for Nonprofit Executives

The Corporate Transparency Act, enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, represents a significant shift in regulatory requirements for entities across the United States. This act, set to...

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Publication

Corporate Transparency Act: State of the Law and Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements

Key Points: Despite ongoing legal challenges, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) generally remains in effect and enforceable. Clients should continue to abide by its regulations. Initial reports for entities formed in 2024 are due within...

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News

Scraping Battles: Meta Loses Legal Effort to Halt Harvesting of Personal Profiles

Alex Reese spoke to Matt Fleischer-Black of  Cybersecurity Law Report about the Meta v. Bright Data decision and its impact on U.S. scraping case law. Read the article here (paywall or trial).

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News

Farella Braun + Martel Earns San Francisco Green Business Recertification

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News

JPMorgan Chase Accuses TransUnion of Stealing 'Trade Secrets'

Intellectual property practice chair Eugene Mar provided expert commentary to American Banker for the article "JPMorgan Chase Accuses TransUnion of Stealing 'Trade Secrets'." In the article, he said: "By filing this as a trade...

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Publication

Insurance Market Crushes Wineries and Wine Country Homeowners

We keep hearing about how difficult it is for winery and vineyard owners to get property insurance these days, both for their homes and their wine businesses in California’s wildfire-prone areas. Those who have...

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