John R. Martzell
John R. Martzell received the LBF 2006 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. The award was presented at the Louisiana State Bar Association’s (LSBA) Annual Meeting in Sandestin, Florida.

Mr. Martzell was selected for his long-standing devotion to excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the courts, litigants and all counsel in his practice of the law. He received a plaque signifying the honor bestowed to him. In addition, the award carries a $1,000 cash stipend, which the LBF donates to a non-profit law-related program or association providing services in the state of Louisiana in Mr. Martzell’s name.

John R. Martzell practices in New Orleans, Louisiana with the firm of Martzell & Bickford. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in Accounting and a Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame Law School; he also served on the Editorial Board of the Notre Dame Lawyer. He was law clerk to the Honorable J. Skelly Wright, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Honorable Frank B. Ellis, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

He served as Director of the Louisiana Commission on Human Relations, Rights and Responsibilities for six years. He is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American College of trial Lawyers and the Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute. He served as President of the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and as Chairman of the Department of Public Affairs with the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He is also listed in the in the Best Lawyers of America under Personal Injury, Maritime Law, Criminal Defense and Business Litigation categories. He lectures widely to lawyers and law students on a variety of subjects.