Honors nearly 40 years as pioneering and highly regarded labor and employment lawyer
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that A. Martin Wickliff, Jr., founder of the largest minority-owned law firm in the state of Texas and a veteran trial lawyer who is one of the country’s leading practitioners in employment and labor law, has been selected to receive the 2011 Trailblazer Outside Counsel of the Year Award from the Texas Minority Counsel Program (TMCP). Presented by the State Bar of Texas Office of Minority Affairs, the Trailblazer Outside Counsel of the Year Award honors the recipient judged to have done the most to promote diversity within the legal profession. Mr. Wickliff will be presented with the Trailblazer Outside Counsel of the Year Award on September 8th, 2011 at the 19th Annual Texas Minority Counsel Program at the Hyatt Regency Austin in Austin, Texas.
Mr. Wickliff is a partner in Cozen O’Connor’s Houston office. Cozen O'Connor has 22 offices with more than 550 lawyers practicing across two continents. Mr. Wickliff joined Cozen O’Connor in 2011 with a team of 13 other highly respected lawyers from his former firm, dramatically expanding Cozen’s Houston presence.
“Everyone in our firm joins in congratulating Marty Wickliff on this well-deserved recognition,” said Cozen O’Connor President and CEO Tad Decker. “Marty Wickliff has a stellar reputation in the Texas legal community, as Texas Lawyer Magazine recognized when it named him one of the 25 greatest Texas lawyers of the last 25 years. He has built on his pioneering role as co-founder of the state’s first African-American firm whose principal practice was civil defense work for major corporations. Today he is widely recognized for his commitment to hiring and mentoring diverse lawyers, and partnering with minority and women-owned law firms.”
“Add to that his deep dedication to his clients and to the Houston community,” Decker continued, “and Marty’s professional stature amply justifies his selection for the Trailblazer Award. He epitomizes Cozen’s diversity leadership efforts, and is a role model for all of us.”
Mr. Wickliff is certified as a specialist in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is one of the few employment lawyers who is a member of the Houston chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. With 38 years of high-profile litigation experience, he devotes his practice to the representation of management in all phases of labor and employment law, including advice and counsel, as well as trials and appeals involving a full range of workplace legal controversies. His trial and appellate experience also encompasses all types of traditional labor disputes, and he has first-chaired many jury and non-jury trials in the state and federal courts of Texas and the United States.
Among many other professional leadership positions, Mr. Wickliff has served on the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas, and has been president of the Houston Lawyers Association. He currently is chair of the Board of Trustees of the State Bar of Texas Insurance Trust. Mr. Wickliff has also served on the boards of various civic and community associations in Texas, including the Houston Symphony, the Texas Children’s Hospital Development Council and the Greater Houston Partnership. He received his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Texas Southern University School of Law, and holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from New York University Law School.