John S. Martel is an American lawyer and novelist. A former Air Force pilot, Martel graduated with a law degree from the

University of California, Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

. He joined the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

firm of Farella Braun & Martel in 1964. He has tried over a hundred

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

s, losing just four, and consulted for the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office on both the O. J. Simpson and Menendez trials. He successfully represented Robert Mondavi in the landmark case of Mondavi vs. Mondavi. He obtained the then-highest verdict in Virginia history in V.I.P. vs. SCM Corporation and successfully defended the Hearst Corporation in a three-month federal jury case, Pacific Sun vs. The Chronicle, the Examiner, et al. He is a former Regent of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been frequently listed in Best Lawyers of American and Super Lawyer magazine. The "National Law Journal" listed him among the Top Ten Trial Lawyers in America. In 1988, he was awarded the San Francisco City and County Certificate of Honor by the Board of Supervisors in recognition of his achievement as a national trial lawyer and his work in behalf of the homeless. He entered the world of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

in 1988 with the courtroom thriller ''Partners'' and followed that in 1995 with ''Conflicts of Interest''. All of his novels, including ''The Alternate'' and ''Billy Strobe'' have been either regional or New York Times bestsellers. His most recent novel is "The American Lawyer," published in 2012. A former college athlete, Martel won the 100 meter hurdles in the U.S. National Masters Track and Field Championships in 1997, running the fastest time in the world for his age group.

Bibliography

* Partners (1988) * Conflicts of Interest (1995) * The Alternate (1999) * Billy Strobe (2001) * The American Lawyer (2012) * "Now and Then" (CD—2008) original pop-rock songs performed by the composer * "Country Hound" (CD—2008) original country-rock songs performed by the composer

External links

John Martel websiteFarella, Braun + Martel LLP (Law Firm)
20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American lawyers American male novelists Living people UC Berkeley School of Law alumni American masters athletes 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-law-bio-stub