Specializing in Government Contracts Law
Biography
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Mark Martins
Mark Martins is a private practitioner who specializes in government contracts law. In his 32 years of legal practice, he has counseled government and private clients on compliance with a broad range of federal procurement laws and regulations, including contract funding, solicitation and submission of offers, competition requirements, offer/proposal evaluation, contract administration, warranties, and termination. Among his judge advocate assignments while serving in government, Martins was the principal contract and fiscal law attorney in the Office of Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose day-to-day clients included the Chairman, the J4 (three-star officer responsible for logistics), and the J8 (three-star officer responsible for force structure, resources, and assessment). During more than seven years overseas, Mr. Martins has been heavily involved with deployment contracting and has advised on diverse issues of contract administration.
A graduate of the contract law course at the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate Generals (JAG) School, Mr. Martins has deep experience with the procurement processes of the Department of Defense. An authority on security assistance programs, he helped draft several pieces of federal legislation, including a 2003 law that simplified acquisition procedures during emergencies. He is published on an array of topics, including a widely read Army Lawyer article explaining the mechanisms and effects of the 2003 law.
Mr. Martins received his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and served as an editor on the Harvard Law Review. He graduated first in his LL.M. program at the JAG School, also receiving the writing award for authoring the best thesis. Earlier, he graduated first in his class from the United States Military Academy and received a B.A. from Oxford University (first class) while on a Rhodes Scholarship.
A member of the Bars of Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and Virginia, Mr. Martins was named a Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyer in America in 2020 in the magazine's 15-year anniversary edition.
About the Law Office--Four Objectives
1. Helping Ease the Burdens of Government Contracts Law on Corporations and Individuals
Although it aspires to be straightforward and as simple as the nature of the particular procurement of goods or services permits, federal government contracting processes can be bewildering, even to corporations and individuals with previous experience competing for or performing under government contracts. A popular lawyers' desk reference, which gathers in one volume only the most heavily used government contract laws and regulations, is more than 1800 single-spaced pages of small typescript. The burdens of just knowing one's compliance obligations across this massive body of law and regulatory material, combined with the burdens imposed by those compliance obligations themselves, are substantial. These burdens can be greatly eased with assistance from skilled legal counsel who has taken time to understand the client's objectives.
2. Helping Companies Prosper and Create Jobs Through Effective Compliance With Legal Requirements Pertaining to Their Government Contracts
Full and effective compliance with legal requirements stemming from performance of government contracts will ensure the contractor remains qualified and positioned for future government work. Such compliance also reduces the costs and aggravation associated with potential non-mandatory audits, investigations, and claims. As a result, effective compliance increases the likelihood a company will prosper and create jobs, and jobs, in turn, are the main engine of well-being in America, significantly improving the economic, social, and mental outlook of those in the labor force and their family members. As the U.S. Senate's Joint Economic Committee recently observed, in addition to providing steady income and the necessities that can be purchased thereby, an individual's "[w]ork instills self-respect, offers a chance to thrive through personal achievements, and is an opportunity to deepen community ties."
3. Providing the Highest Quality Services to Clients in a Cost Effective Manner
Client government contractors seek to provide best value for lowest cost. Their legal counsel should do the same. It is an objective of the Mark Martins Law Office that legal service performed in the practice areas of compliance programs, contract formation, cost accounting and recovery, internal investigations, intellectual property protections, small business programs, subcontracting and teaming agreements, and others pay for themselves in terms of client savings.
4. Assisting Those Who Wish to Serve in Government Acquire the Skills, Experiences, and Opportunities Necessary to Do So and Excel
Whereever and whenever possible, I seek to help those who aspire to serve in government acquire the skills, passion, experience, and judgment to fulfill those dreams, thereby also making our government stronger, more effective, and more just. Over a long government career, I discovered that my capacities are deepest in the area of getting things done with and through very different types of people, and of sustaining organizational performance by growing individuals as experts, teammates, and leaders. Private law practice within a dynamic and complex discipline now provides many opportunities to meet aspiring government servants and--by providing assistance and counsel--to help achieve through their public service greater security and prosperity for all Americans.