Judy Perry Martinez of Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn has been selected to receive the 2025 American Inns of Court James E. Coleman Jr. Award for Professionalism in the Fifth Circuit. She has had a remarkable career, which includes serving as a commercial litigator, partner, and member of the firm’s governing committee from 1982 to 2003.
The American Inns of Court is a nationwide organization dedicated to promoting legal professionalism through example, education, and mentoring. Candidates for the organization’s Professionalism Awards are nominated through circuit-wide open nominations and selected by a panel of representatives from both the circuit and the American Inns of Court.
The award will be presented to Martinez during the Fifth Circuit Judicial Conference in May 2025. In their nomination of Martinez, Janis van Meerveld of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana and Judy Barrasso of Barrasso Usdin praised her exceptional contributions to the legal profession, noting that the swift and enthusiastic support she received for the award is a testament to her esteemed reputation.
Martinez’s career spans both the private and public sectors. After her first tenure at Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, she joined Northrop Grumman Corporation, where she rose to become vice president and chief compliance officer by 2011. She also played a key role in the company’s Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council. After retiring from Northrop Grumman in 2015, Martinez pursued public service in New Orleans, focusing her efforts at Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn.
A staunch advocate for legal education and public service, Martinez served as president of the American Bar Association from 2019 to 2020. She also chaired the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary and the Presidential Commission on the Future of Legal Services. In addition to her membership to The American Law Institute, she has been involved with the American Bar Foundation and the Louisiana Bar Foundation.
Martinez has always been dedicated to public service, co-founding the New Orleans Pro Bono Project in 1986 and currently serving as vice president of the World Justice Project, an international organization committed to advancing the rule of law globally.
She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of New Orleans in 1979 and a cum laude law degree from Tulane University Law School in 1982.