Palo Alto
(650) 843-2725 P
(650) 857-1288 F

Martha C. Luemers

Of Counsel

Martha Luemers is Of Counsel in Dorsey’s Trial, Regulatory and Technology Group.  She is also a member of the Electronic Discovery Group. Her practice focuses on complex business litigation.  She represents clients in IP licensing disputes, disputes arising out of fiduciary relationships such as partnerships, joint ventures and corporate directorships, and a wide variety of other contract and business tort disputes.  She is also frequently called upon to handle or consult upon dispositive and other major motions and appellate matters. 

Before 2005, Martha was a shareholder in the Palo Alto law firm of Ritchey Fisher Whitman & Klein PC. 

Clerkship

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Chief Judge James R. Browning (1982 - 1983)
  

Representative Litigation

• Obtained arbitration award retroactively terminating exclusive license to patents for thin film semiconductor technology.
• Represented angel investor in dispute with company founders and obtained return of entire investment.
• Represented a corporation and its controlling shareholder in protracted litigation arising out of Southern California real estate partnerships.  Obtained $13 million judgment for contribution.
• Represented numerous clients in partnership or quasi-partnership disputes, including real estate, technology, venture capital, medical and law firm partnerships, LLCs and joint ventures.
• Obtained summary judgments for defendants in a variety of actions, including a fraud in the inducement claim relating to investment in a Colorado ski resort, a Miller Act bond claim against a major contractor, and a claim in equity for $12 million in attorneys’ fees.
• Obtained dismissal under California’s anti-SLAPP statute of an action against an attorney accused of fraud in connection with a settlement and recovered client’s fees.

Admissions

• California
• The United States Supreme Court
• The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• The United States District Court for the Northern, Eastern, Central and Southern Districts of California

Honors

• Fulbright Scholar, 1977-78, at the Universitaet Tuebingen, Germany

Education

• Stanford Law School
  J.D., 1982, Senior Editor, Stanford Law Review
  President, Stanford Public Interest Law Foundation
  
• Stanford University
  B.A. with distinction, 1977, Phi Beta Kappa
  Certificate in General Translation, German into English, 1976
  

Professional Activities

• Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association since 1992
• Member, State Bar Association of California
• Member, Santa Clara County Bar Association
  • Appellate Court Executive Committee
• Member, Palo Alto Bar Association

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