Alexandria, Va.— ABI announces that Michael L. Martinez of Grier Wright Martinez, PA (Charlotte, N.C.) has been selected as one of ABI’s “40 Under 40,” ABI’s annual program that recognizes 40 of the top insolvency industry professionals under the age of 40. Honorees will be recognized at a special virtual ceremony on February 18, 2021.
Martinez is a partner at Grier Wright Martinez, PA in Charlotte, N.C., and focuses his practice on representing debtors-in-possession, bankruptcy trustees, creditor committees, other parties in commercial bankruptcy matters, receivers, and businesses in general transactional matters. He is Board-Certified Specialist in Business Bankruptcy and was named a North Carolina Rising Star in the area of Business Bankruptcy by Super Lawyers in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Martinez has been recognized for his pro bono representation of consumer debtors by being inducted into the inaugural Supreme Court of North Carolina Pro Bono Society in 2016, receiving the Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award from Legal Services of the Southern Piedmont in 2013, and receiving the Outstanding Achievement in Pro Bono Award from the N.C. Bar Association Bankruptcy Section in 2018. Outside of helping consumer debtors, Michael pioneered a pro bono initiative in Charlotte for assisting terminal cancer patients with end-of-life planning, particularly immigrant parents leaving being orphaned children. Martinez is the incoming president of the Mecklenburg Bar Foundation, serves on the N.C. Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Council, and previously chaired the Mecklenburg County Bar’s Communications Committee and Bar Leadership Institute Committee. Martinez currently chairs the N.C. Bar Association Bankruptcy Section’s Seminar Planning Committee and previously chaired the Western North Carolina Bankruptcy Seminar Planning Committee. He received his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 2009 and B.A. cum laude in political science and English, with a concentration in film and media studies, from the University of Florida in 2006.
“Accomplished in both their careers and communities, the 2020 class of honorees is an inspiration for the future of the insolvency community,” said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “We look forward to collaborating with this diverse collection of young leaders in the full range of ABI's activities to advance the profession.”
The “40 Under 40” winners are distinguished by professional achievements and service and were selected by a group of experienced professionals from ABI’s current leadership. Nominations were submitted earlier this year by the candidates themselves or by colleagues via the initiative’s website, http://abi40under40.org. More than 200 candidates, each with outstanding records of professional achievement and community leadership, were evaluated by 20 judges. The majority of the applicants were partners, directors or managing directors at their firms.
Click here to view the full list of the 2020 “40 Under 40” honorees.
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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes nearly 11,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.