Raymond W. Martin

Ray Martin has represented some of Colorado's largest employers in labor and employment litigation in the federal and state courts in the Rocky Mountain region for more than thirty years. 

In 2010, Chambers USA, a highly-respected lawyer ranking directory, selected Ray as one of the top five employment lawyers in Colorado and described him as "highly regarded in the state as 'an extremely knowledgeable employment practitioner with a booming practice.'"  In its 2010 edition, the International Who's Who of Business Lawyers included Ray as one of only five Colorado lawyers in its management labor and employment listing.  Ray has also been recognized by the Denver Business Journal as one of the top three employment lawyers in Colorado based on voting by practicing attorneys in the state.    

A zealous representative of his clients, Ray and every member of Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell's employment group take pride in the open and interactive relationships they make it a priority to develop with both in-house counsel and the management team whose decisions are challenged in litigation.

Following is a representative sampling of cases Mr. Martin has handled:

• Mr. Martin obtained a complete defense verdict after a one-week jury trial on behalf of a major telecommunications company in a case that involved important issues under the public-policy exception to Colorado's employment-at-will doctrine. The plaintiff claimed she was fired for complaining to the Department of Labor that the company was not paying employees across the country the full amount of commissions they had earned.  The jury found that the plaintiff was fired for insubordination. The case was selected among Law Week Colorado's 2010 top defense verdicts.
• The Colorado Civil Rights Division ruled for Mr. Martin's client, a Colorado college, in one of the first complaints filed under the 2007 amendment to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.  The amendment extended state law protection against discrimination in the workplace to discrimination based on transgender status.  The plaintiff, a staff member and instructor at the college who had started a gender change from male to female, was terminated for insubordination.  Mr. Martin established that the plaintiff was terminated solely for her misconduct, and not because she was transgender.
• Mr. Martin obtained summary judgment on all claims for a major manufacturing firm in an ERISA class action in federal court in Indiana.  The plaintiffs, who had been employed by the manufacturing facility over a span of 25 years, sought to require WTO's client to provide lifetime retiree medical benefits to all members of the class. 
• Mr. Martin represented a major federal contractor in connection with a pattern-and-practice EEOC investigation relating to alleged gender discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, and glass ceiling issues.
• Mr. Martin successfully defended a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Colorado against a national financial institution accused of discriminating in its lending practices based on national origin.
• The federal court in Colorado granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction for Mr. Martin's client, an international software developer.  The TRO and PI enjoined two of the clients' former employees from violating their non-compete and proprietary information agreements.
• A Colorado state court granted injunctive relief to Mr. Martin's client, an international payroll services company, enforcing the company's rights under a non-solicitation agreement against a former employee who had gone to work for a competitor.
• Mr. Martin successfully argued that a judgment previously entered against WTO's client was improper.  The new order vacated the $500,000 judgment entered against the defendant by a Colorado state court in 2008 in an ERISA matter handled by another firm.  
• The former CEO and chairman of WTO's client, a securities broker-dealer, had asserted employment-related claims of more than one million dollars plus punitive damages against WTO's client.  After a week-long arbitration, the panel ruled in favor of Mr. Martin's client. 
• Mr. Martin obtained a temporary restraining order to stop the former employee of a health care third party administrator and his new employer from contacting the TPA's customers.  Mr. Martin also obtained a declaratory judgment that the TPA's non-compete agreement was enforceable under Colorado law.

Other Experience
Freeborn & Peters

Community Memberships Activities, and Honors
Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church
     Former Trustee
Denver Post Charities
    Former Chief Legal Counsel (Pro Bono)

Teaching Positions
National Employment Law Institute
Counsel on Education in Management

Personal Interests
Golf