Susan Martin

Susan Martin developed a strong background in communications before she turned her energies toward the study of law. While an undergraduate, she produced a radio show, directed a youth drama program and went on to serve as the managing editor of a weekly newspaper for a suburb of Dayton, Ohio.

After working her way through law school by clerking for several Santa Clara firms, Professor Martin began her legal career as law clerk to Justice David Zenoff of the Nevada Supreme Court. She later became an associate with the San Jose firm of Sylva, Rubnitz, DiNapoli, Hastings & Livak.

In 1975, Professor Martin was recruited for Southwestern's faculty and taught exclusively in the SCALE program her first four years. She now teaches in the traditional programs as well and serves as an advisor to various interscholastic teams competing in moot court as well as negotiation and client counseling competitions. "I try to find an innovative approach to teaching my classes each year," she says. "That way the material is always interesting and challenging to both my students and myself." In recent years, she has also been an active participant in the law school's Community Outreach Program that brings local elementary school children to the campus for mock trials and other activities. During the 1982-83 academic year, Professor Martin took a leave of absence from teaching to direct the Santa Monica office of the Pacific Legal Foundation.

Professor Martin is a former chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) Advisory Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the Legal Profession, has spoken on the topic before numerous forums, and was instrumental in the development of the LACBA-sponsored substance abuse awareness program for law schools. She has focused her recent scholarly research in the areas of comparative secured transactions and sales aspects of the Uniform Commercial Code. In 2011, she took Professor of Law Emeritus in Residence status.