Lorenzo Martinez, Esq. - Living the best of US and Philippine legal worlds
“The law is as much about dealing with people as it is about dealing with the law” - LM
By Marivir R. Montebon
New York - It’s one thing to have a luminous curriculum vitae, but it’s how you conduct yourself on the delivery of justice that makes – or breaks – a lawyer. On both counts, Manhattan-based Lorenzo Martinez (or Enzo to family and friends), Esq., is remarkable.
Martinez has worked at Clifford Chance U.S. LLP in New York City as a transactional associate since the fall of 2022. He does all the finer things that make big deals get off the ground – providing due diligence, document drafting and review, deal coordination and logistics, and legal research for the firm’s transactional practice groups.
Lorenzo Martinez, Esq.
Martinez was a professional lecturer on Special Proceedings at the De La Salle University Tañada-Diokno College of Law in the Philippines where he was born. Initially, he worked at the Poblador Bautista Reyes Law Offices with experiences in arbitration, intellectual property, criminal law, labor and employment, and corporate law. Thereafter, Martinez was associate solicitor at the Office of Solicitor General.
Law education and practice in the Philippines is completely different from the U.S., which is advantageous for Martinez in both settings. Philippine law education and practice is holistic and therefore enriching, he said. In the U.S., law education and practice are focused, which makes a lawyer ‘sharp’ or eagle-eyed.
Martinez believes that his practice in the Philippines has well-prepared him for the U.S. He graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from the prestigious Ateneo de Manila University School of Law in 2012, arguably the best law school in the country.
Martinez during his bar admission.
“There are few things that are more alienating and impersonal than a transactional legal job in the United States. You barely meet any people to close a deal, just documents. Here, you meet your team members and your opposite number for the other parties, bankers, in-house counsel, paralegals, other lawyers in the firm from whom you're seeking consultation.”
“In the Philippines, you need to know staff at government agencies, courts, law enforcement, as well as employees of your client and sometimes the clients themselves. To get the job done you need to be good with people and understand them. My experience in dealing with various parties let me understand that behind every email is a person” explained Martinez.
Martinez received his U.S. Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School, New York. He graduated with honors with a GPA of 3.8 as a James Kent Scholar. While at school, he was Head Online Editor for the American Review of International Arbitration, the only publication of its kind in the United States, as well as one of the leading publications in the field internationally.
Martinez interned at the Sonia and Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program, where he worked with Judge Sanket Bulsara at the Federal Court of the Eastern District of New York. In line with the program's mission, he continues to mentor diverse aspiring lawyers in navigating the ins and outs of law school and the legal profession.
At the Columbia Law First-Generation Professionals, Martinez met and mentored other law students who did not have the institutional knowledge of having a lawyer in their family to guide them through the process of developing their career.
As part of his law school studies, Martinez worked as the in-house counsel extern at International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. He shadowed in-house counsel to comprehend the incentives and interests of business clients and come to a more holistic and practical understanding of transactional law practice.
Martinez also received a Master of Laws degree in May 2019 at Columbia Law School with honors as a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar.
His LL.M. was supported by the Mark Appel Fellowship on the Regulation of the Multinational Enterprise, which awards financial assistance to students who are focused on the issues brought about by the rapid proliferation of multinational corporations.
He was a recipient of the Parker School recognition for achievement in international and comparative law at Columbia Law School, awarded to students whose field of study significantly involves the international practice of law.
As Board representative to the Columbia International Arbitration Association, Martinez assisted in putting together the organization's talks and networking events to bring people together who are interested in international commercial and investment arbitration.
He worked as an international arbitration research assistant for Kabir Duggal and George Bermann, a “rising star” and the “godfather of international arbitration,” respectively Martinez provided Duggal with an overview of International Arbitration law and practice in the Philippines. He provided research for Bermann's scholarly work on twilight issues in international arbitration.
A graduate of Master’s of Law from Columbia Law School honored at the Philippine Consulate General in New York in 2019 by then Consul General Claro Cristobal (right-most).
The Philippine Consulate General in New York honored Martinez as one of its distinguished Filipino graduates in June 2019 at the Kalayaan Hall.
Excerpts of our interview:
MM: Your professional experience is remarkable. Why did you choose to become a lawyer? Did your parents influence you to be one, as Philippine culture dictates? Tell us about them.
LM: My parents are businesspeople who raised me to be thoughtful and kind. My father is from Tuguegarao, and my mother is from Amulung, Cagayan. When they married, they came to Manila. They were simple, traditional parents who showed their care quietly through acts of kindness.
I am the first lawyer in my family. I became a lawyer because I remember my parents who encountered issues that would be simple for a lawyer to solve -- acquiring business permits, drafting contracts and other legal documents, etc.
I recall that when the Register of Deeds of Quezon City burned down, my mother had to handle the reconstitution of titles by herself. It sounds trite, but I became a lawyer to help people, especially them.
MM: Why did you choose to study in the U.S.?
LM: I wanted to understand how the wider legal world works, and I wanted to challenge myself in the world's legal hotbed – New York City.
MM: How’s married life vis-à-vis legal practice here?
LM: My wife Alex is a lawyer at Clifford Chance as well. She's a hundred times smarter and better than me but will never admit it. She's my rock. I met her in Ateneo, she's my law school sweetheart, we studied in Columbia together and now work together.
MM: What’s an unforgettable case that you handled in the Philippines. Something which you learned tremendously from?
LM: The most impactful case I ever handled was the one immediately after I left private law practice. I represented about 22 of the indigent victims and family members of employees who were injured or killed in a massive industrial fire that killed more than 70 people. I took witness statements and filed civil and criminal cases against the company, its owners, as well as several public officers, and I appeared in some of the hearings.
In the end, most of the victims and family members were able to receive much larger financial settlements from the company than what had been initially offered at the outset to settle the case.
I handled the case for its first seven months and had to transfer it to a reputable litigation firm because I accepted a position at the Office of the Solicitor General.
I like to think that I gave my clients hope that there was someone on their side. It was all I could really give them, besides applying my legal skills. My clients were angry against the people whose negligence had harmed or killed their family members and themselves. I tried my best to match their energy.
They would take days off from work to meet me so that they could sign affidavits or attend hearings, and each day off was clearly a huge sacrifice for them. For those who were there during the fire, it was an ordeal for them to recall and relate, in detail, what happened to them. My job was to ask the right questions and to tell their stories, in legal terms.
Martinez: In the Philippines, you are known for the law firm that you are in. But in the US, you must build your own practice area. I’d like to do that.
MM: What is your work ethic as a lawyer?
LM: The law is as much about dealing with people as it is about dealing with the law. Obviously, there are the law firm partners, your bosses, as well as the clients that you need to impress. But there are also courtroom staff, the stenographers, the secretaries, the messengers, all of whom should be properly respected.
It is easy for a lawyer to lose sight of this because of the daily stress involved in the work, as well as the elevated status that people give to lawyers in society. But humility is in order. Not only because you cannot do a good job without these people, but because the dignity of the profession demands that we treat others with dignity.
MM: What makes a lawyer effective in his craft?
LM: Time management is central. Most days involve fitting in various matters that you cannot say no to. Consequently, we can never let the perfect be the enemy of the good -- while many lawyers are perfectionists, we can only do our best within the constraints of time and life. The perfect letter or pleading is less valuable to a client than a letter or pleading sent in a timely fashion.
Many legal tasks involve taking the stress away from the client and taking in on us. Consequently, just like doctors, a sense of detachment is key. This is useful not just for the lawyer's mental health, but also for the lawyer's objectivity.
MM: In a poor country like the Philippines, how do you help in delivering justice to someone who has no means to hire a lawyer?
LM: I’d like to see more funding for the Public Attorney’s Office. My friend and I have discussed this, something that can be done for the future. We can text message an attorney for legal consultation. Like ten pesos per text message. That would be a business solution, in the Philippines. New York has been doing this.
MM: What’s your intermediate plan as a lawyer?
LM: I always felt that corporate mergers and acquisitions are something I had an interest in even when I was much younger. I’d like to find my niche within this practice area. And, to be involved in the greater Philippine legal community. Right now, I attend certain events. But the end goal is to be part of a larger legal network. Essentially making a name for myself here in America. In the Philippines, you are known for the law firm that you are in. But in the US, you must build your own practice area. I’d like to do that.#
