Martha Tierney

Martha practices in the areas of government relations, election law, employment law, and litigation.

Martha is an experienced authority on federal, state, and local election law. The current Chair of the National Governing Board of Common Cause, she has drafted and successfully advocated for some of the most important and sweeping election reform legislation in the nation. Martha engages in lobbying and election policy advocacy with the legislative and executive branches.  No stranger to the courtroom, Martha has led or participated in election law litigation on behalf of the Democratic Party, elected officials, candidates, advocacy organizations, and local governments; and commercial litigation on behalf of businesses, nonprofits, and individuals.

Martha guides federal and state candidates and political organizations, as well as nonprofit advocacy groups, through the maze of campaign finance laws and regulations. She also represents individuals and organizations in campaign finance complaints and other campaign-related litigation.

Martha is a frequent drafter of and advocate for state and local ballot initiatives, assisting both proponents and opponents through policy drafting, title setting, signature gathering, and issue committee formation and operation.

Martha assists employers with hiring practices, personnel policies and employee terminations, on avoiding and responding to charges of employment discrimination, and in drafting and seeking enforcement of non-competition, non-solicitation, and trade secrets protection agreements.

She also negotiates executive employment and severance agreements.