Leo P.
Martinez ’78

Leo Martinez is Albert Abramson Professor of Law Emeritus and a proud member of the UC Law SF Class of 1978. Following his graduation from UC Law SF, Professor Martinez met his military commitment as a member of the U.S. Army JAG Corps, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and built a private practice focused on tax issues with the San Francisco law firm of Howard Rice, et al. He joined the UC Law SF faculty in 1985 and served as UC Law SF’ Academic Dean for 12 years.

Professor Martinez returned to the classroom full-time in 2006, interrupted in the 2009/10 academic year when he served as UC Law SF’s Acting Chancellor and Dean. His teaching has included some combination of contracts, federal tax, tax policy, tax procedure, and insurance law.  In addition, he has taught or lectured at more than 20 institutions in Europe, Asia, and South America.

Professor Martinez is a co-author of the West casebook on insurance law (soon to be in its ninth edition) and an editor of the four-volume treatise New Appleman Insurance Law and Practice Guide (Leo P. Martinez, Marc S. Mayerson & Douglas R. Richmond eds. LexisNexis 2021). He is the chair-elect of the ABA Council of the Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, the accrediting body for American Law Schools, and he is a commissioner of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, a regional accreditor.  He is a member of the American Law Institute and he is a past President of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).

Outside of academia, Professor Martinez has been active in public service. He has chaired the boards of five different nonprofit organizations including KQED, Inc. (now Northern California Public Broadcasting); Public Advocates, a San Francisco-based public interest law firm; the St. Francis Hospital Foundation; Public Radio Capital, a nonprofit organization dedicated to broadening the reach of public broadcasting; and Public Media Venture Group, a consortium of 31 public television stations. He was a 10-year member of the board of CollegeTrack, a Bay Area-based organization which provides mentoring for high school students living in underserved areas.  He has also served as a member of the Chancellor’s Club Advisory Board for the University of Kansas, his alma mater.

In 2011, Public Advocates presented Professor Martinez with its highest award, the Voices of Conscience Award, for his leadership in the law and the public interest. He was the 2011 recipient of the annual Latino/a Law Professors Award by the Latino/a Law Professors Group for his “outstanding contributions to the Latino/a community in general and Latino/a law professors in particular.”  He is an honorary fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel and he currently serves as a managing director at Andersen, the tax and financial services firm.