Martin R. Galbut

Martin R. Galbut brings decades of counseling and litigation experience to the firm. He combines a distinct blend of corporate, securities, banking, real estate, antitrust, intellectual property, and finance counseling and litigation experience with tenacious thoroughness and unmatched client service. Martin represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of cases involving securities, banking and finance, labor and employment, corporate governance, intellectual property, antitrust, real estate, environmental, regulatory, and health care matters.

Martin is widely regarded as one of the leading business attorneys in Arizona. His excellence has been recognized as such on many occasions by The Best Lawyers in America®, Southwest Super Lawyers®, Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who in America, Legal Leaders, AZ Business Magazine, The Phoenix Business Journal, Phoenix Magazine, Arizona Executive Magazine, and AZ Big Media. He was named Best Lawyers 2019 Phoenix Lawyer of the Year for Litigation – Banking and Finance; 2017 Phoenix Lawyer of the Year for Corporate Governance Law; and 2015 Phoenix Lawyer of the Year for Corporate Governance Law.

Because of his extensive experience and broad background across the wide range of legal practices areas implicated in running a successful business, Martin has the unique ability to provide fractional general counsel services in a manner that takes into account all relevant considerations – monetary and otherwise.

Martin's efficacy as an attorney and reputation for providing counsel in an ethical way have engendered great respect for him within the Arizona legal community. This respect is recognized by, among other things, his receipt of the Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent rating (the highest possible peer review rating in legal ability and ethical standards) for the last 36 years (1984–2020).

Martin has been a lecturer and moderator for the State Bar of Arizona’s continuing education programs and a frequent panelist at professional conferences on securities, commercial real estate, and intellectual property law. He has also published numerous articles and seminar materials in the areas of securities law, commercial real estate litigation, arbitration, and mediation.

Appointed by the Governor of Arizona, Martin served on the Governor’s Task Force on Urban Air Quality. Appointed by the Mayor of Phoenix, Martin served on the City of Phoenix Environmental Quality Commission. For several years, Martin also chaired the Arizona State Air Pollution Control Hearing Board. He has served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association (AAA), National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Martin graduated from Northwestern University in 1968. He earned his law degree cum laude from Northwestern University Law School in 1971, where he was an Editor of the Northwestern University Law Review, a Clarion DeWitt Hardy Scholar, a Francis S. Kosmerl Foundation Scholar, and a recipient of the first 'Student Who Contributed the Most to the Intellectual Life of Northwestern University' award.

In addition to the law, Martin’s passions are his family, international travel, landscape painting, and collecting art and antiques. In 2019, he won First Place in Painting in the Arizona Bar’s Creative Arts Competition. Martin won this same award in two prior years. His works were most recently featured in the Arizona Attorney magazine in May 2019.

PRACTICE AREAS

Business Litigation, Outside General Counsel, Family Office Services

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Commercial arbitrator, American Arbitration Association Arbitrator, NASD?FINRA Mediator, State Bar of Arizona (Section on Securities Regulation)

HONORS AND AWARDS

The Best Lawyers in America® (2001–2021)

• Phoenix Lawyer of the Year — Banking and Finance (2019)
• Phoenix Lawyer of the Year — Corporate Governance Law (2017)
  Phoenix Lawyer of the Year — Corporate Compliance Law (2015)

Southwest Super Lawyers®, Super Lawyer (2006–2021); Top 50 Arizona Lawyer (2012)Martindale-Hubbell®, AV Preeminent Rating (1984–2021)Martindale-Hubbell®, Platinum Client Champion (2014–2021); Client Distinction Award (2016)Martindale-Hubbell®, Judicial AV Preeminent (2021)AZ Big Media, Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona (2017, 2018)AZ Business Magazine, The Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona (2012, 2016, 2018)Top Attorneys in the Southwest (2020)Legal Leaders, Top Rated Litigators (2015, 2017, 2018)Arizona Executive Magazine, Legends of Law (2017)Who's Who in America (2015)America's Most Honored Lawyers Top 1% (2020, 2021)America's Most Honored Professionals (2014, 2020)Arizona's Business Leader's Magazine, Top 4 Arizona Attorney - Securities/Finance (2014)Arizona Republic, Best Arizona Attorneys (2012)The Phoenix Business Journal, Leading Lawyers and Best of the Bar (2005, 2006)