Overview
Martha is the counsel the financial industry seeks to provide favorable resolutions from the routine to the most complex matters. Martha’s considerable career experience allows her to propose solutions from best-practices to groundbreaking. Having built long standing relationships with her opposing counsel from many locations, she is able to thoroughly assesses her clients’ prospects before setting foot in the courtroom.
Martha’s clients are most often secured lenders, unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees, trustees, and debtors. She assists with the purchase of assets from insolvent entities, both inside and outside of bankruptcy, and counsels clients regarding mechanic's and other forms of liens, as well as commercial litigation matters in connection with her practice. Her counsel includes natural extensions of the creditors’ rights and bankruptcy area of law including insolvency, corporate financial statements, real estate, compliance, environmental, agriculture, breaches of contract, and family-owned business issues. She has authored “friend of the court” briefs in both the Supreme Court of the United States and the Indiana Supreme Court on bankruptcy and litigation issues.
Martha is board certified by the American Board of Certification in Business Bankruptcy and is a fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation. She is also a member of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis Finance Counsel, the House of Delegates for the Indiana State Bar Association, and the St. Vincent DePaul Changing Lives Mentoring Program. Martha chairs the HEAL Committee for the Indianapolis Bar Association.
Membership & Involvement
- Member: Indiana State Bar Association, Creditors Rights Section; House of Delegates; American Bankruptcy Institute
- Faculty Committee Member, Former Director: American Board of Certification of Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Attorneys
- Distinguished Fellow, Former Board Member: Indianapolis Bar Foundation
- Former Chair: Indianapolis Bar Association; Commercial and Bankruptcy section
- Indianapolis Bar Association: Chair, HEAL Committee; Member and Former Chair, Commercial and Bankruptcy Section
Honors
- Selected to the Indiana Super Lawyers list: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
- Selected to The Best Lawyers in America© in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021; 2022
- Selected to The Best Lawyers in America© in Banking & Finance Law: 2022
Resources & Insights
Alerts
Speaking Engagements
Published Works
Education on Demand
The SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance programs have been nearly exhausted and the Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program is restricted to larger borrowers.
Firm News
- 43 SmithAmundsen Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers in America© 202243 SmithAmundsen Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers in America© 2022
Inclusion in this listing is entirely based on peer review and demonstrates that attorneys in each nominee’s respective fields hold these attorneys in high esteem.
- 6 SmithAmundsen Attorneys Included on 2021 Indiana Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists6 SmithAmundsen Attorneys Included on 2021 Indiana Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
SmithAmundsen is pleased to announce the inclusion of 6 attorneys on the 2021 Indiana Super Lawyers® and 2021 Indiana Rising StarsSM lists. Super Lawyers® is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
- Supreme Court Settles Chicago’s Car Impoundment Drama – For NowSupreme Court Settles Chicago’s Car Impoundment Drama – For Now
On January 14, 2021, a nearly unanimous United States Supreme Court held that the possession of these cars, without more, after a bankruptcy filing does not violate the Bankruptcy Code.
- What’s in a Name? When is a Farmer a Family Farmer Under the Bankruptcy Code?What’s in a Name? When is a Farmer a Family Farmer Under the Bankruptcy Code?
Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code allows family farmers to reorganize in a preferred way.
Education
Vanderbilt University School of Law, J.D., 1987
University of Dayton, B.A., 1984, summa cum laude
Admissions
- Indiana
- Ohio