Jennifer Martínez


Jennifer S. Martinez is a human rights lawyer, a professor of law, and current Dean of Stanford Law School. She is a leading expert on international courts and tribunals, international human rights, and the laws of war.

Education and legal career

Martinez graduated cum laude with distinction from Yale University and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. During her first year in law school, she was awarded the Sears Prize, which goes to the two students with the highest first year grades. She served as managing editor of the Harvard Law Review and was twice published in the Law Review. After law school, she clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer, Patricia Wald of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
She joined Stanford Law School's faculty in 2003, after working as an attorney at the law firm Jenner & Block in Washington, D.C., and as a senior research fellow and visiting lecturer at Yale University. She has twice been named one of the "100 Most Influential Hispanics" and an "Elite Woman" by Hispanic Business magazine." She also was named to the National Law Journal's list of "Top 40 Lawyers Under 40" and the American Lawyer's "Young Litigators Fab Fifty." She also has received the Civil Rights Advocacy Award from the La Raza Lawyers of San Francisco and the Ray of Hope Award from Hispanas Organized for Political Equality. When asked to cite the best U.S. Supreme Court decision since 1960 by Time, she cited New York Times Co. v. U.S.. She has pointed to the Japanese internment case, Korematsu v. U.S., as among the worst opinions.
She serves on the board of directors for the Open Society Justice Initiative and has served as a consultant on international human rights issues for both Human Rights First and the International Center for Transitional Justice. She is also a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Martinez represented José Padilla in the Supreme Court in Rumsfeld v. Padilla.

Personal life

In 2004, Martinez married David Silliman Graham. She has four daughters: Alyse, Claire, Ciara, and Gannelle. She also has 3 more daughters who are chickens and their names are Bilbo Bean Baggins, Bawk Bawk Sasparilla, and Albert Eggstein.