Martin Tate was founded by Judge John D. Martin, Sr., over 100 years ago and has a recognized tradition of service to clients, the profession and the Memphis community.

Because of its long-term commitment to Memphis and the Mid-South, Martin Tate has a unique perspective on delivering legal services for Memphis businesses as well as its national clients. The Firm’s tradition of service to our clients and community is exemplified by the experience and character of its lawyers and by the loyalty of our clients, a number of whom we have represented for decades. Many of our clients have depended on Martin Tate through the various stages of their corporate development and growth. Harking back to the firm’s past, John Martin guided the founders of Holiday Inn through development of the brand from its inception, with Mr. Martin’s secretary at the time picking out the tile color for the bathrooms in the motels. This spirit was carried forward when one Memphis entrepreneur started his company, M.S. Carriers, Inc., with one truck and Martin Tate as its counsel and never looked back. Martin Tate acted as counsel to M.S. Carriers during its IPO, and 5000 tractors and 30,000 trailers later, the Firm acted as counsel in the merger of M.S. Carriers with Swift Transportation, making it the largest publicly-held truckload carrier in the United States. Mike Starnes, President of M.S. Carriers, praised Martin Tate’s work, stating "Martin Tate has been my law firm from the time I started M. S. Carriers as a private company through the company’s public offering and culminating in our merger with Swift. I never felt compelled to go outside of Memphis or the Martin Tate firm for any of my legal needs."

These are but two examples of the type of service that Martin Tate provides its clients. Martin Tate has resisted the trend of other firms towards mergers and acquisitions resulting in hundreds of attorneys working in institutionalized settings. Martin Tate’s size has allowed it to employ high-caliber attorneys who not only excel in their areas of practice, but are able to get to know and really understand their clients. Our size also allows us to nimbly respond to our clients’ individualized needs.

At Martin Tate, we pride ourselves on our ability to handle both routine and complex, sophisticated matters for our clients in an efficient manner. With regard to our business clients, we strive not only to provide practical and sound legal advice, but to counsel our clients in everything from organizational matters to dispute resolution. With regard to our individual clients who may be navigating legal waters for the first time, our goal is to guide our clients to an understanding of the issues that they face and to a desirable resolution.

Our attorneys routinely represent clients in litigation in federal and state courts, business and commercial transactions, trust and estate matters, commercial and residential real estate matters, contract drafting and disputes, intellectual property matters, construction issues and disputes, transportation litigation, PILOT transactions, securities matters and products liability cases, to name a few. We also counsel our clients on various regulatory issues. For a listing of our practice areas, please visit the "Practice Areas" section of our website.

While client satisfaction is the highest recognition we can achieve, the Firm’s attorneys have been recognized by their peers and numerous organizations for their outstanding work. The Firm boasts attorneys who are members of the American College of Trial Lawyers, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, American College of Real Estate Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America and Mid-South Super Lawyers. Many of the Firm’s attorneys have been rated by Martindale Hubble and received the "AV" rating, the highest rating available.