By Misty Cryer
A local attorney, W. T. Martin, Jr. (aka Tom Martin) Is very appreciative of the education he received from Texas Tech Law School, and the reputation that it provided for him and his classmates. His legacy will live on at the law school for years to come.
“I had the pleasure of working with Lane (Tom’s son and partner) and his family to help them establish the endowed scholarship in honor of their dad. Last Tuesday, I had the privilege of sharing the news with Tom as we presented him with a certificate. Carol Jo (Tom’s wife) and their granddaughter joined us,” said Karen Holden, Senior Director of Development and Donor Relations for Texas Tech University School of Law.
Providing a statement on behalf of the law school, Holden said, “The W.T. Martin, Jr. ‘70 Endowed Scholarship supports incoming Texas Tech University law students. With a first preference for students from Eddy, Lea, Chaves, Otero, and Lincoln Counties in New Mexico, and a second preference for students from Hall, Lubbock, or Gillespie Counties in Texas, the scholarship ensures that students from these regions have the opportunity to achieve their academic goals.”
About Hall County being included, Tom said, “This is kind of a family background thing for me.”
On behalf of the school, Holden said, “The law school’s library has study carrels that give students a quiet place to focus and study without distractions. These personal spaces are very important during the challenging years of law school. Connecting Mr. Martin’s name with a study carrel gives students a lasting tie to someone who cares about their success. This ensures that his legacy will always be connected to their memories of hard work and achievement.”
Tom graduated from Texas Tech School of Law in 1970. His name is on a plaque at the law school along with his classmates. “I was in the first law school class at Texas Tech Law School. It was a small group of people who were establishing the school. I think virtually every one of us that was in the class had been accepted somewhere else. We got talked into coming to Tech and dive into the start of a brand-new law school.”
Tom said, “I think if you talk to anybody that went through that first class, we all agree that we got a very, very good legal education at Tech. In fact, I found three years of Tech Law School to be enjoyable, and not a grind.”
When it came time to take the Texas Bar, Tom said, “We were all saying, ‘Well, we wonder how we will do in comparison to other students from other law schools in Texas.’ Our class had the top five grades on the Texas Bar that year. That pretty well established somewhat of a reputation for the entire class.”
The class has stayed in contact over the years and had a number of reunions, Tom said. “I feel absolutely privileged that I made the decision to go to Tech at that time. We didn’t know for sure where we would come out at the end with it being a brand-new law school, but it came out perfect,” he said.
“I knew that I was going to come back to New Mexico at that point. As far as I know, I’m the first Tech graduate to have passed the New Mexico Bar and licensed in New Mexico,” said Tom. “I took two bars in one summer. That was interesting,” he said.
“I’ve been glad to see that the Tech Law School has grown, and has turned into what it has turned into, which is an excellent law school,” said Tom.
When asked about the greatest accomplishment in his career, Tom said, “Well that’s hard to say, but if I had to pick a case that I thought was the most important it is the case where the water rights in the Carlsbad Basin were being adjudicated—the surface rights. The federal government was trying to take those water rights away from the CID farmers. We won that, so the CID farmers still hold those water rights, not the federal government. I think in all the cases that I have had, in many ways, that is the most important.”
Tom said, “I am very, very proud to have come from that first class. I’m proud of Tech Law School and what they have accomplished. They do pay attention to lawyers in eastern New Mexico and cater to them some. I’m glad that they are doing that.”
“We are honored that W.T. Martin, Jr.’s family chose to establish the W.T. Martin, Jr. ‘70 Endowed Scholarship at Texas Tech University School of Law. As a member of the law school’s first class and someone who achieved remarkable success, Mr. Martin’s legacy will continue to inspire future generations of students. This scholarship represents his commitment to excellence and will have a lasting impact on students’ lives, providing them the support they need to follow in his footsteps and build their own distinguished careers,” said Jack Wade Nowlin, Dean and W. Frank Newton Professor of Law.
Tom and Carol Martin have three children, including Lane, who is a partner in the law firm.
“Jeni Dugan—her husband is a partner in our law firm, Ken Dugan,” said Tom. “I have an older daughter, Dara, she lives in Austin. Jeni is a law office administrator; she does an excellent job in it. She is the administrator for our law office. Dara is a speech pathologist. She does very specialized speech pathology, plus she trains newscasters and weathercasters all over the nation on how to talk and present themselves verbally while they are giving the newscast or weathercast,” said Tom.
“We just hired a Tech graduate, Adam Overstreet, John Overstreet’s son. We are super excited to have Adam in the firm,” Tom said.
The Martin, Dugan and Martin Law Firm is pretty general, Tom said. “Lane does a lot of estate planning, probate, and certain business transactions,” he said.
“Dugan is very much a litigator. He does business stuff, water rights, and also, he does personal injury. He is very, very good at personal injury. He’s not running around putting signs up all over the highways. He has had very good success,” said Tom.
“I do a couple of things. I do water rights also. I do labor law. I’m probably the only one around in southeast New Mexico that does traditional labor law. What I mean by that is dealing with labor unions, management, collective bargaining, arbitration, and labor matters. I do general business stuff also,” Tom said.
“We are letting Adam have a feel for everything that is done in the office. He will, over a period of time like most lawyers, kind of develop an area that he likes the best and leans toward doing that. We are not forcing him into any particular area; we’re giving him as much full exposure to all of the areas that we can. So far, he is just excellent. That’s the only term I can use for Adam, he’s excellent,” Tom said.
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