Kevin P. Martin

Kevin P. Martin is co-chair of the Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation practice at Goodwin, where he has practiced since 2001. Kevin has argued and briefed numerous cases in federal and state appellate courts around the country, and also has extensive experience in both trial matters and internal and government investigations. Prior to joining Goodwin, Kevin clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court and Judge Laurence Silberman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Kevin is a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. The Legal 500 has noted that Kevin is known as an “excellent writer, advocate, and strategist.” He is ranked a “Star” for Appellate Litigation in Massachusetts by Benchmark Litigation, and has been named a “Lawyer of the Year” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for his work before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). He has been recognized by the Boston Business Journal as one of its “Power 50,” an annual listing of top executives and “movers and shakers” in the Boston economy. He also serves on Law360’s Massachusetts Editorial Advisory Board. Kevin is the Chair of the board of directors of the New England Legal Foundation, and is a member of Goodwin’s Pro Bono Committee.

Kevin regularly appears in the federal Courts of Appeals, especially the Federal Circuit and the First Circuit. His recent Federal Circuit arguments include a successful interlocutory appeal challenging a preliminary injunction barring the sale of a generic version of a $1 billion per year drug, multiple successful defenses of judgments of non-infringement in patent cases, multiple successful defenses of decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in inter partes reexaminations, and a successful defense of a judgment notwithstanding the verdict in a partnership dispute. He recently successfully argued before the Fourth Circuit to overturn a summary judgment decision in a patent licensing dispute, and before the First Circuit for affirmance of dismissal of breach of contract and fiduciary duty clams. Kevin also has briefed numerous merits cases before the United States Supreme Court, on issues ranging from the Clean Water Act to federal consumer protection laws.

Kevin’s appellate experience further includes nine arguments before the Massachusetts SJC concerning a wide variety of issues. He successfully argued at the SJC on behalf of a group of business and public policy groups challenging a proposal to amend the Massachusetts constitution to impose a $2 billion per year graduated income tax for the first time in the state’s history; on behalf of a major national university in a wrongful death case concerning the circumstances under which universities are responsible for student suicides; and on behalf of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in a case concerning whether government agencies may terminate contracts “for convenience” to reduce costs. Kevin’s earlier arguments before the SJC included two major breach-of-contract disputes and a challenge to the state’s taxation of trusts administered by an out-of-state national bank. Kevin also has argued and won several civil matters in the Massachusetts Appeals Court.