Posted: June 25, 2010

Martyn has received the Junior League of Norfolk's Light Award.

A niche practice

I'm in the transportation group and I focus on maritime law. We are involved with maritime contract claims, marine cargo claims, maritime personal injury and wrongful death defense work, merchant maritime licensing, marine insurance coverage opinions and defense. When I was in law school I was interested in national security law. I was first exposed to maritime law during an internship with the Department of Justice in their international affairs department. I worked on a project that dealt with a forged inspection stamp on a bill of lading. I had to learn about why that was important. It was because the ships' documents get negotiated with banks and that's how people in the shipping industry get paid. I'm passionate about what I do because the maritime industry is globally important. It's all about moving things and trade around the world and keeping commerce going. Plus I like the history of admiralty law, which is a very old and established law that is rooted in custom. And the fact that maritime law is a niche practice. I wasn't interested in a generalized practice. I wanted to focus on something specific and become good at that. I also enjoy working with the people at the firm and in the maritime industry. In my job the most difficult aspect of it is that the answers aren't always spelled out clearly in the law. Admiralty is mostly a common-law, rather than statutory, practice, so you often have to figure out novel issues without much guidance from prior precedent and extrapolate the law from what's been decided previously.

Junior league of Norfolk

When I was in law school up in D.C., I joined the Junior League in that area. A friend of mine in law school was a member and prompted me to join. I really enjoyed meeting everyone and it was a great networking opportunity to meet businesspeople and new friends. The Junior League is an organization committed to promoting volunteerism and developing potential in women and improving their communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is educational and charitable causes. Every chapter has its own focus. In D.C. the focus was literacy and in Norfolk it is all about the healthy kid's initiative. We support organizations that are dedicated to our mission. In the Norfolk league, I'm the transfer and contracts chair. I work with league members on promoting the league and reviewing league contracts. Our organization is filled with wonderful women who are welcoming.

Supporting community organizations

I love the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia. I started working with them through the Norfolk Portsmouth Bar Association. I joined the bar and was on the public relations committee. We have a Legal Food Frenzy project where law firms compete to see who can raise the most money in two weeks for the foodbank. Through this project, I met several people at the foodbank and was given a tour of the operation. I fell in love with the organization and its mission. I'm also part of the Downtown Norfolk Council's Downtown 100 organization. I'm involved with the Chrysler Museum, Think 757, Norfolk Botanical Garden and Virginia Symphony.

Giving back

It's very important to your community to give back. It's so easy to get wrapped up in your own life. There's something special about going out in the community and helping people, whether it's a new person joining the Junior League and helping her feel comfortable with the new environment or giving your time to the foodbank or other organizations. Helping others helps you look beyond yourself. I choose my organizations carefully. If it's something I'm interested in, I will go to several meetings before I get involved. I'm also careful not to overextend myself. You have to make sure you're able to focus and able to commit to an organization.

Light Award

I was extremely surprised to receive the Junior League of Norfolk's Light Award. I was completely caught off guard. I remember attending the dinner and as they read off some of the honoree's career highlights, I thought that it sounded so much like me. It was a great honor.