Congratulations Lilka Martinez!
We are pleased to announce that Lilka B Martinez is the 2022 recipient of the ABA Section of Family Law Allen Gary Palmer Excellence in Service and Commitment Award, known in short as the “Palmer Award.”
The Palmer Award was established to honor the legacy of Allen Gary Palmer’s commitment to service in the area of family law by honoring an attorney who has been a part of the ABA Family Law Section Fellowship Program and has excelled in or after being in that position. It is given either (1) to the graduating Fellow who has stood out by consistently complying with and exceeding Fellowship guidelines and expectations throughout the entirety of his or her Fellowship, or (2) to a former Fellow who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to the Section by his or her continued participation in the Section’s committees and leadership
Lilka Martinez is being awarded the Palmer Award based on the latter requirement.
Lilka Martinez is a solo practitioner in Placerville, California. She practices 100% family law. She earned her J.D. degree “with great distinction” from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, while working full-time as a paralegal. She is also a graduate and a former faculty member of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College.
Lilka is originally from Uruguay, South America, and lived in Mexico before settling in Northern California over 18 years ago. She is committed to promoting diversity in the legal profession, being one of the first ABA Family Law Section Diversity Fellows, and a CLEO/Thurgood Marshall distinguished alumna.
She is a member of the Family Law Section of the California State Bar, El Dorado County Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association, and often volunteers at her alma mater to provide assistance to Spanish speaking members of the community.
Lilka, who is in her second term as a FLS Council member, has been co-chair of the Member Benefits Committee from 2015 to 2018, and was a member of the Bylaws Committee for the term 2016-2017. She has served on the CLE Committee (2019-2020), Strategic Planning Committee (2017-2020), Finance Committee (2019-2020), and Diversity Committee (since 2012). She also presently serves on the Family Advocate Board of Editors.