Veronica Root Martinez is a nationally recognized expert in professional and organizational ethics, corporate misconduct, and compliance. She is the leading academic authority on the use of monitors and monitorships. Her interdisciplinary research shapes best practices in ethics, compliance, and governance across public and private sector organizations. In particular, she focuses on equipping organizations to foster ethical cultures, adhere to legal and regulatory mandates, and create inclusive workplace environments.
At Duke University, Martinez holds the Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Distinguished Professorship of Law and a courtesy appointment in the Fuqua School of Business. Her teaching portfolio includes courses on Contracts; Ethics & Professional Responsibility; Securities Litigation, Enforcement & Compliance; Legal Scholarship Seminar; and Corporate Compliance & Ethics. Additionally, Martinez teaches Judicial Ethics in the Bolch Judicial Studies LLM program and Management in Ethics at Fuqua. She chairs Duke Law’s Academic Careers Committee and serves on key university committees, including the University Priorities Committee and the Institutional Compliance Advisory Committee.
Before joining Duke, Martinez was the Robert & Marion Short Scholar and Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School, where she became the first Black woman to receive tenure. Her contributions earned her multiple teaching and service awards, including the Distinguished Professor of the Year award and recognition from the Black Law Students Association. While at Notre Dame, she directed the Program on Ethics, Compliance & Inclusion for three years.
Martinez’s scholarly contributions are published in numerous legal journals, including the Harvard Law Review and Columbia Law Review. Martinez’s 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, and is a co-author on the forthcoming 6th Edition of the casebook, Professional Responsibility: A Contemporary Approach.
In addition to her work in academia, Martinez is a member of FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council, the American Law Institute, and the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. She has also served as a consultant for the OECD, advising on global anti-corruption compliance initiatives. Within the Durham community, she is a board member for the Durham Center for Senior Life, and is the current chair of the Governance Committee.
A Georgetown University alumna, Martinez earned her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where she served as Managing Editor of the Chicago Journal of International Law. After law school, she clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and practiced law at Gibson Dunn.
