Cathleen A. Martin is a Shareholder of Newman, Comley & Ruth P.C. and is currently serving as firm president. She concentrates her practice in employment law, corporate law and general civil practice.

Ms. Martin chaired the Missouri Bar Labor and Employment Law Committee for two years from 2001 to 2003 and is a contributing author of the Missouri Bar's Employment Discrimination CLE Deskbook. She has given seminars on employment law issues for Associated Industries of Missouri, Missouri Ag Industries Council, Inc., the Missouri Bar, Counsel on Education in Management and the Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce. Prior to entering private practice, she was an assistant attorney general in the litigation division of the Missouri State Attorney General's Office.

Ms. Martin was recognized by the Jefferson City Business Times in 2006 as one of Jefferson City's 40 Under Forty for her contributions to her profession and the community. She serves on the Board of Directors and is past President of the Jefferson City Breakfast Rotary Club and was named Rotarian of the Year for 1999-2000. She also is past chairperson of the Jefferson City Area Rape and Abuse Crisis Service and served on its Board for six years.

Ms. Martin was born in St. Charles, Missouri in 1971. She graduated summa cum laude from Truman University in Kirksville, Missouri, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism. In 1996, she received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri School of Law.

Areas of Practice

• Employment Law
• Corporate Law
• General Civil Litigation
• Construction Law
• Real Estate Law
• Municipal Law
• Administrative Law

Litigation Percentage

• 60% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

• Missouri, 1996
• U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri, 1996
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1996

Education

• University of Missouri Columbia School of Law, Columbia, Missouri, 1996
  J.D.
  Honors: Board of Advocates Order of Barristers
  Honors: Roscoe Anderson Moot Court Award
  Law Journal: Managing Editor, Journal of Dispute Resolution, 1994 - 1996
  
  
• Truman State University, Kirksville, MO, USA, 1993
  B.A.
  Honors: Summa Cum Laude
  Major: Business Administration
  Major: Journalism
  
  

Published Works

• Missouri Employment Discrimination Deskbook-Affirmative Action Chapter, The Missouri Bar, 2001
• Employer's Rights in Terminating Employees: Understanding At Will Employment, Kansas City Journal, May, 1999
• Enforcing the Rights of Missouri's Elderly, Missouri Lawyer's Weekly, February 22, 1999

Representative Cases

• Barnett v. Young Men's Christian Association, Inc., 175 F.3d 1023 (8th Circuit 2001)
• Pollock v. Berlin Wheeler, Inc., 112 S.W. 3d 73 (Mo. App. W.D. 2003) ( )

Classes/Seminars Taught

• Safeguarding your Organization from Wrongful Discharge Claims, Recent Changes in Overtime Exemptions and How to avoid the Most Common Wage and Hour Violations and Workplace Harassment Policies and Investigations, AccuPay APS, L.L.C., 2005
• Unemployment Law/Workers' Compensation Update, The Missouri Bar, 2004
• Recent Developments Impacting the Labor and Employment Law Practitioner, The Missouri Bar, 2003
• Deciphering Whether Your Employee Has a "Serious Health Condition": Preventing Misuse and Abuse of the FMLA, Council on Education in Management, Personnel Law Update, 2003
• Safeguarding Your Organization from Wrongful Discharge Claims, Council on Education in Management - Personnel Law Update, 2003
• How to Terminate an Employee without Prompting a Lawsuit, Council on Education in Management, 2002
• How to Terminate an Employee Lawfully, The Missouri Bar, 2002
• How to Terminate an Employee Lawfully, The Missouri Bar, 2001
• Avoiding Sexual Harassment of Employees by Members, Central Chapter of Credit Unions, 2001
• Avoid the Most Common and Surprising Legal Pitfalls in Your Reference Checking Practices, Council on Education in Management - Personnel Law Update, 2000
• Employee Arbitration Agreements, The Missouri Bar, 1999
• Family Medical Leave Act, The Missouri Bar, 1999
• Can I Go to Jail for not Paying Overtime?, Missouri Ag Industries Council, Inc., 1999
• Missouri's Employee Service Letter and Reference Letter Statutes, Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce, 1999
• Mental Disorders Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, The Missouri Bar, 1998
• Addressing Employee's Substance Abuse Problems, Associated Industries of Missouri, 1998
• Council on Education in Management, Preventing FMLA Retaliation claims; Lessons Learned from Recent Cases to Discover What Went Wrong and What Went Right, 2007

Honors and Awards

• Named by Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top young attorneys in Missouri and Kansas, 2008
• Jefferson City Business Times, 40 Under Forty, 2006
• Jefferson City Breakfast Rotary Club, Rotarian of the Year, 1999 - 2000
• Who's Who in American Law, 2003 - 2007
• America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals, 2002
• Strathmare's Who's Who, 2003 - 2006

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Missouri Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Committee, 1997 - Present
  Past Chair
  
  
• American Bar Association, 1996 - Present
  
  
• Eighth Circuit Bar Association, 2003 - Present
  
  
• Cole County Bar Association, 1997 - Present
  
  
• Women's Law Association of Mid-Missouri, 2004 - Present
  
  
• Jefferson City Breakfast Rotary Club
  Board of Directors; Treasurer 2002-2003; Secretary 2003-2004
  
  
• Jefferson City Breakfast Rotary Club
  Vice-President 2004-2005; President 2005-2006; Past President 2006
  
  
• Society for Human Resource Management, 2000 - Present
  
  
• Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce, 1999 - Present
  Leadership Jefferson City Class of 1998
  
  
• Jefferson City Young Life, 1996 - 2003
  Committee Member
  
  
• Memorial Baptist Church
  Member
  
  

Past Employment Positions

• Missouri Office of Attorney General, Litigation Division, Assistant Attorney General, 1996 - 1997

Pro Bono Activities

• MO Bar's Call-A-Lawyer Program, 1997 - 2000
• Jefferson City Rape and Abuse Crisis Service, Inc. (General Legal Services), 1998 - 2003
• Capital City Boys & Girls Club (General Legal Services), 2000

Birth Information

• 1971, St. Charles, Missouri, United States of America