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Turning 125: Nelson Mullins Celebrating 125 Years of Legal Service in 2022
In January 1897, attorney P.H. Nelson left his position as solicitor of the Fifth Judicial Circuit to set up a private law practice in Columbia, S.C. The State newspaper contained a short but prescient news item on Jan. 26 about the endeavor, which noted that "the new firm should meet with great success."
And they were right. Today, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP offers legal services in 15 states and the District of Columbia from 31 offices with 930+ attorneys, policy advisors, and professionals. It is the 71st largest law firm in the nation based on 2020 gross revenues, according to The American Lawyer’s Am Law 100, a legal news organization that tracks law firm growth.
Throughout 2022, Nelson Mullins will be sharing seminal events from its history that highlight its growth from a one-man firm in 1897 to where we are today. Click here to learn more.
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John D. Martin
Partner
1320 Main Street
17th Floor
Columbia, SC 29201
John is a litigation partner whose practice focuses on the interplay of high stakes litigation, electronic discovery, information management, and cybersecurity. He is a leader of the Nelson Mullins Electronic Discovery and Information Management practice group, Nelson Mullins Encompass. John's clients routinely face the challenge of having to collect and produce massive volumes of...
John is a litigation partner whose practice focuses on the interplay of high stakes litigation, electronic discovery, information management, and cybersecurity. He is a leader of the Nelson Mullins Electronic Discovery and Information Management practice group, Nelson Mullins Encompass. John's clients routinely face the challenge of having to collect and produce massive volumes of highly sensitive information in response to litigation, government investigations, and other matters. Clients turn to John and the Nelson Mullins Encompass team to manage the scope of these obligations, identify and mitigate risks, minimize business disruption, and to implement creative solutions to challenging and often disruptive discovery burdens.
Many of John's clients engage him as enterprise electronic discovery counsel to serve as an advocate and coordinate discovery strategy and operations in complex matters, often involving numerous concurrent MDL venues and interrelated government investigations. In this role, John communicates a consistent message across numerous matters, ensuring consistent strategy and positioning before a variety of judges, opposing counsel, and regulators. John has deep, hands-on experience litigating evidence spoliation and other unique e-discovery issues – ranging from TAR protocols in MDL litigation to source code production. Delivering accountability, this advocacy dovetails with the full range of large scale electronic discovery data collection, data processing, document review, and production operations of the Nelson Mullins Encompass team.
While most clients engage John's team to handle cases from the start, they are often called into ongoing matters to defend sanctions motions, defend discovery processes, litigate overly broad demands, prepare and defend depositions into discovery conduct, and to consult on related issues.
highly sensitive information in response to litigation, government investigations, and other matters. Clients turn to John and the Nelson Mullins Encompass team to manage the scope of these obligations, identify and mitigate risks, minimize business disruption, and to implement creative solutions to challenging and often disruptive discovery burdens.
Many of John's clients engage him as enterprise electronic discovery counsel to serve as an advocate and coordinate discovery strategy and operations in complex matters, often involving numerous concurrent MDL venues and interrelated government investigations. In this role, John communicates a consistent message across numerous matters, ensuring consistent strategy and positioning before a variety of judges, opposing counsel, and regulators. John has deep, hands-on experience litigating evidence spoliation and other unique e-discovery issues – ranging from TAR protocols in MDL litigation to source code production. Delivering accountability, this advocacy dovetails with the full range of large scale electronic discovery data collection, data processing, document review, and production operations of the Nelson Mullins Encompass team.
While most clients engage John's team to handle cases from the start, they are often called into ongoing matters to defend sanctions motions, defend discovery processes, litigate overly broad demands, prepare and defend depositions into discovery conduct, and to consult on related issues.
Experience
- Has developed strategies for and overseen organizations' document productions in response to government antitrust inquiries and as part of pre-merger notifications/Hart-Scott-Rodino submissions.
- Discovery advocacy spanning many industry sectors, including healthcare, insurance, pharmaceutical, tobacco industries, including antitrust, cybersecurity, product liability, and investigation matters.
- Advises clients on privacy and information security and data breach response issues and implements defensible approaches to the preservation, collection, and production of electronically stored information for litigation, government requests, and internal investigations
- Advises clients on communications and coordination with law enforcement and regulators and on related preservation of data and electronic evidence issues in connection with cybersecurity and data breach incidents
- Advocates for clients before the courts and opposing counsel to help right-size discovery to the needs of the case
- Counsels clients on information governance practices, including preservation and defensible disposal
- Develops both offensive and defensive electronic discovery strategies and prepares company witnesses to address challenging data-related issues
- Helps clients with the selection and management of electronic discovery vendors, as well as the development of cost-effective, large-scale document review strategies
- Represents drug and medical device companies, manufacturers, health insurance companies, and clients in other industries in product liability and business litigation
- Has served as both national coordinating counsel in numerous MDL proceedings.
- Frequent appearances in courts and pro hac vice in numerous jurisdictions across the country
Education
- University of South Carolina School of Law, JD (2000)
- University of South Carolina, Honors College, BS, Biology (1996)
Admissions
- South Carolina
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
Practice Areas
- Has developed strategies for and overseen organizations' document productions in response to government antitrust inquiries and as part of pre-merger notifications/Hart-Scott-Rodino submissions.
- Discovery advocacy spanning many industry sectors, including healthcare, insurance, pharmaceutical, tobacco industries, including antitrust, cybersecurity, product liability, and investigation matters.
- Advises clients on privacy and information security and data breach response issues and implements defensible approaches to the preservation, collection, and production of electronically stored information for litigation, government requests, and internal investigations
- Advises clients on communications and coordination with law enforcement and regulators and on related preservation of data and electronic evidence issues in connection with cybersecurity and data breach incidents
- Advocates for clients before the courts and opposing counsel to help right-size discovery to the needs of the case
- Counsels clients on information governance practices, including preservation and defensible disposal
- Develops both offensive and defensive electronic discovery strategies and prepares company witnesses to address challenging data-related issues
- Helps clients with the selection and management of electronic discovery vendors, as well as the development of cost-effective, large-scale document review strategies
- Represents drug and medical device companies, manufacturers, health insurance companies, and clients in other industries in product liability and business litigation
- Has served as both national coordinating counsel in numerous MDL proceedings.
- Frequent appearances in courts and pro hac vice in numerous jurisdictions across the country
Media
Recognitions
- Chambers Global: World's Leading Lawyers for Business, E-Discovery & Information Governance - USA (2020–2021)
- Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, E-Discovery & Information Governance - Nationwide (2019–2021), Recognized Practitioner, Litigation: E-Discovery - Nationwide (2018)
- Legal 500 United States: Dispute resolution: E-Discovery (2019–2021); Leading Lawyer (2021)
- Recognized by Financial Times for his efforts with Encompass and with saving millions of dollars of costs and increased efficiencies across the board for healthcare provider Anthem
Professional Activities
- South Carolina Bar
- Has served on the Ethics Advisory Committee, Professional Responsibility Committee, Practice & Procedure Committee and its Resolution of Fee Disputes Board
- DRI – The Voice of the Defense Bar
- Electronic Discovery and Drug & Medical Device committees
- Past Editor-in-Chief, E-Discovery Connection
- Member, Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production, Sedona Conference
- Business Litigation and Products Liability sections, American Bar Association
- Richland County Bar Association
- South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association
Leadership
- American Red Cross, Palmetto SC Region, Board of Directors (2016–present)
- SC Economics, Board of Directors (2012–2016)
- South Carolina State Elections Commission, Commissioner (2000–2004)
John is a litigation partner whose practice focuses on the interplay of high stakes litigation, electronic discovery, information management, and cybersecurity. He is a leader of the Nelson Mullins Electronic Discovery and Information Management practice group, Nelson Mullins Encompass. John's clients routinely face the challenge of having to collect and produce massive volumes of... highly sensitive information in response to litigation, government investigations, and other matters. Clients turn to John and the Nelson Mullins Encompass team to manage the scope of these obligations, identify and mitigate risks, minimize business disruption, and to implement creative solutions to challenging and often disruptive discovery burdens.
Many of John's clients engage him as enterprise electronic discovery counsel to serve as an advocate and coordinate discovery strategy and operations in complex matters, often involving numerous concurrent MDL venues and interrelated government investigations. In this role, John communicates a consistent message across numerous matters, ensuring consistent strategy and positioning before a variety of judges, opposing counsel, and regulators. John has deep, hands-on experience litigating evidence spoliation and other unique e-discovery issues – ranging from TAR protocols in MDL litigation to source code production. Delivering accountability, this advocacy dovetails with the full range of large scale electronic discovery data collection, data processing, document review, and production operations of the Nelson Mullins Encompass team.
While most clients engage John's team to handle cases from the start, they are often called into ongoing matters to defend sanctions motions, defend discovery processes, litigate overly broad demands, prepare and defend depositions into discovery conduct, and to consult on related issues.
Experience
Following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.- Has developed strategies for and overseen organizations' document productions in response to government antitrust inquiries and as part of pre-merger notifications/Hart-Scott-Rodino submissions.
- Discovery advocacy spanning many industry sectors, including healthcare, insurance, pharmaceutical, tobacco industries, including antitrust, cybersecurity, product liability, and investigation matters.
- Advises clients on privacy and information security and data breach response issues and implements defensible approaches to the preservation, collection, and production of electronically stored information for litigation, government requests, and internal investigations
- Advises clients on communications and coordination with law enforcement and regulators and on related preservation of data and electronic evidence issues in connection with cybersecurity and data breach incidents
- Advocates for clients before the courts and opposing counsel to help right-size discovery to the needs of the case
- Counsels clients on information governance practices, including preservation and defensible disposal
- Develops both offensive and defensive electronic discovery strategies and prepares company witnesses to address challenging data-related issues
- Helps clients with the selection and management of electronic discovery vendors, as well as the development of cost-effective, large-scale document review strategies
- Represents drug and medical device companies, manufacturers, health insurance companies, and clients in other industries in product liability and business litigation
- Has served as both national coordinating counsel in numerous MDL proceedings.
- Frequent appearances in courts and pro hac vice in numerous jurisdictions across the country
Education
- University of South Carolina School of Law, JD (2000)
- University of South Carolina, Honors College, BS, Biology (1996)
Admissions
- South Carolina
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
Practice Areas
- Commercial Litigation & Business Torts
- Cybersecurity & Data Breach Response
- Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
- E-Discovery & Information Governance E-Discovery - Encompass
- Health Insurance
- Products Liability - Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices
- White Collar Defense & Government Investigations
Industries
- Chambers Global: World's Leading Lawyers for Business, E-Discovery & Information Governance - USA (2020–2021)
- Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, E-Discovery & Information Governance - Nationwide (2019–2021), Recognized Practitioner, Litigation: E-Discovery - Nationwide (2018)
- Legal 500 United States: Dispute resolution: E-Discovery (2019–2021); Leading Lawyer (2021)
- Recognized by Financial Times for his efforts with Encompass and with saving millions of dollars of costs and increased efficiencies across the board for healthcare provider Anthem
- South Carolina Bar
- Has served on the Ethics Advisory Committee, Professional Responsibility Committee, Practice & Procedure Committee and its Resolution of Fee Disputes Board
- DRI – The Voice of the Defense Bar
- Electronic Discovery and Drug & Medical Device committees
- Past Editor-in-Chief, E-Discovery Connection
- Member, Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production, Sedona Conference
- Business Litigation and Products Liability sections, American Bar Association
- Richland County Bar Association
- South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association
- American Red Cross, Palmetto SC Region, Board of Directors (2016–present)
- SC Economics, Board of Directors (2012–2016)
- South Carolina State Elections Commission, Commissioner (2000–2004)
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