Veronica Root Martinez is an expert in the fields of professional and organizational ethics, and she is one of the nation’s foremost experts on corporate misconduct and compliance. She is the nation’s leading academic expert on the role of monitors and monitorships. Her extensive body of work encompasses an interdisciplinary approach, drawing insights from ethics, compliance, corporate and securities law, and workplace law. Martinez's research is dedicated to developing strategies that will empower organizations to achieve three pivotal objectives: (i) fostering ethical standards within professional and organizational environments, (ii) ensuring sustained adherence to legal and regulatory mandates, and (iii) cultivating an organizational environment that champions diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Martinez’s scholarly contributions have been published in numerous legal journals, including the Harvard Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Cornell Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Northwestern Law Review, The Yale Law Journal Forum, and The University of Chicago Law Review Online. Martinez's forthcoming book, BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE PROGRAM, is forthcoming with Edward Elgar. She also serves as a co-author on the 5th Edition of the casebook, SECURITIES LITIGATION, ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE.
Martinez teaches a diverse array of courses, including Contracts; Ethics & Professional Responsibility; Securities Litigation, Enforcement & Compliance; Legal Scholarship Seminar; and a range of compliance courses. In addition to her work at the Law School, Martinez holds a secondary (courtesy) appointment in the Fuqua School of Business in the Management and Organizations area. Outside of Duke, she is currently serving a four-year term on FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council.
Prior to her tenure at Duke, Martinez was the Robert & Marion Short Scholar and Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School, where she was the first Black woman to receive tenure. Her dedication to teaching earned her the admiration of students, with the NDLS Class of 2022 selecting her for the Distinguished Teaching Award and the Captain William O. McLean Faculty/Staff Award. The Class of 2021 similarly recognized her with the Captain William O. McLean Faculty/Staff Award. Martinez's contributions to the Notre Dame Black Law Students Association were celebrated with multiple accolades, including the Charles F. Crutchfield Professorial Award in 2020, 2019, 2017, and 2015. In 2020, she received the Black Law Students Association's Rebecca B. Ward Appreciation Award.
Before embarking on her academic career, Martinez served as a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and practiced law at Gibson Dunn in Washington, D.C. She received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. Prior to attending law school, she received a B.S. in Business Administration from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
