Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathryn Martin.
Hi Kathryn, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Our Martin Legacy Legal story started in 2014 with the marriage of the law firm’s partners, Jason & Katie Martin. At that point in time, we were both mid-level military officers in the United States Air Force, where we were leaders and experts in the areas of military aviation and military law, respectively. Upon getting married in 2014, our careers and family life became a world wind by creating a blended family of 6 kids, countless moves and military deployments, career changes, and culminating with the creation of our law firm.
Although creating a law firm was never the “end goal”, our overarching desire as a partnership was to create something that captured our professional essence as strategic thinkers, leaders, and technical experts. Also, woven into that desire to create something was the desire to be an invaluable asset to our community and to provide a helping hand to young people, entrepreneurs, and traditionally disadvantaged communities by providing needed information, volunteering our time and knowledge, and becoming a bridge to tables and rooms that are often inaccessible.
So, in 2017, we began to construct the framework that would become our law firm, Martin Legacy Legal. At that time, our nation had just experienced a rash of officer-involved killings of Black men that went unpunished and mostly ignored. We then decided that our gifts and talents should be used in the legal community after understanding that the main drivers of change in the United States are money and the law. This focus deviated slightly in 2020, during the COVID pandemic, as it witnessed the crumbling infrastructure of the small business community and the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on small businesses. So, our focus shifted more towards types of law that would positively impact entrepreneurs, creatives, and small businesses, which brought us to intellectual property (IP) law and branding.
In order to bring these dreams and plans to fruition, Katie transitioned from the U.S. Air Force and took on legal roles with the Arizona State government for approximately two years, followed by almost eight years as a civilian attorney for the United States Army. Meanwhile, Jason retired from the U.S. Air Force and immediately enrolled in law school. While in law school, he interned and worked for the University of Arizona as an IP Licensing Manager, followed by a one year stint as a Legal Intern for a Tucson-based IP law firm.
Thus, we find ourselves today as the founders and Partners of Martin Legacy Legal law firm, where we seek to blend our proud legacy of military and government service with modern legal strategy to share knowledge with our clients about the importance of intellectual property and branding; showing our clients where their intellectual property assets lie within their operations; and, aiding our clients in properly protecting those assets to benefit them, both now and in the future. Ask yourself what makes you come alive—and go do that—because the world needs people who have come alive (~Howard Thurman). Our true north is providing legal scaffolding to budding entrepreneurs, creatives, and small businesses as they rise to come alive in our world today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life, as well as business creation, has not been a smooth road. Some of the struggles that we have faced in creating Martin Legacy Legal law firm are similar to the struggles faced by most small business owners. These struggles include finding the requisite amounts of startup capital, ensuring the availability of adequate resources (mentors, strategic planning, roadmaps to success) to effectively service clients, and shifting paradigms from being career salary employees to business owners.
In our personal lives, struggles have included normal family struggles. These have included the loss of beloved family members, continual moves around the country, and finding our footing in a national and international political landscape that seems to morph daily into something unknown and inhumane.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Martin Legacy Legal ?
At Martin Legacy Legal, we combine a proud history of military and governmental service with cutting-edge legal counsel for today’s businesses and creatives. As a virtual boutique firm, we specialize in intellectual property and trademark protection, entertainment law, business strategy, and contract services, helping clients safeguard their brands, navigate growth, and protect what matters most. We are deeply rooted in our core values — integrity, excellence, service, and legacy — and we deliver precise, practical solutions designed to help our clients thrive; whether they’re launching a new venture, protecting creative works, or negotiating key deals.
What sets Martin Legacy Legal apart from other IP law firms, is that you get corporate-level experience and legal strategy in a streamlined, welcoming personal format. We ensure that our clients understand that working with us is a partnership where we value your hard work, inputs, and where we also celebrate together in your successes. We like to say: “White-glove efficiency, anchored in real human connection.” This approach and mode of operating is what we are most proud of, as it is always our goal for our client-partners to leave an experience with Martin Legacy Legal feeling excited, optimistic, and with a sense of enjoyment from the legal experience. We don’t do automated lawyering—MLL is built on real connection, real strategy, and real people who move as fast as you do.
At Martin Legacy Legal, the services we offer are:
• Business Services
o Contract drafting and review
o Business negotiation counseling
o Employment & HR counseling
o IP Licensing
• Trademark Services
o Trademark searching & registration
o Trademark maintenance & renewals
o Revival of abandoned Trademark applications
o Trademark statement of use & Declaration of use
o Trademark assignment & licensing
o Trademark cancellations
• Entertainment & Creative Services
o Licensing and collaboration agreements
o Life rights and adaptation deals
o Production and talent contracts
o Deal review and negotiation
• Document Review Services
o Business contracts and NDAs
o Lease agreements
o Partnership and investor agreements
o Entertainment and media contracts
o General legal documents for compliance and clarity
o Name, Image, & Likeness (NIL) related documents
• Intellectual Property Advising and Consulting
o Cease & Desist Notifications
o IP Audits
o IP Infringement Response
What does success mean to you?
For Martin Legacy Legal, success is defined within the meaning of the word “legacy”. We are a value-based firm that seeks to serve other value-based individuals and businesses. We service all 50 states and can help foreign business owners as well. Our goal for creating this law firm was not to solely seek to become a Top 100 national law firm, but to be seen primarily as a pillar of our local, state, and national community in the areas of law, branding, and intellectual property. Thus, our unofficial motto is “Value and Substance over Profit.” We focus more on adding value to our clients and business partners than counting the currency that comes through the door. And, we believe that in doing business this way, we are planting a fortified redwood tree that will be around for generations to come, versus being an entity that fades away like all fads eventually do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.martinlegacylegal.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martinlegacylegal/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100062908607178
