About Marty
Mr. Burke regularly represents clients in high risk litigation matters in state and federal courts throughout the country, both at the trial and appellate levels. Peer rated AV-Preeminent in Martindale Hubbell, Mr. Burke focuses his practice on general business litigation and commercial disputes, insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, and product liability and personal injury litigation. Due to his extensive experience in litigating e-discovery issues, Mr. Burke also chairs the firm’s Electronic Discovery and Data Management Group and regularly serves as a consultant on e-discovery and data management matters to the firm and its clients. Mr. Burke has also served as a member of the 10th Judicial Circuit’s E-Discovery Roundtable, a panel of local attorneys and judges formed to educate the local bar about the 2010 amendments to the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure regarding e-discovery.
Mr. Burke has over 15 years of experience in litigating and trying cases in federal and state courts. His representative experience includes serving as lead or co-lead counsel in the following matters:
Representing a Fortune Global 500-ranked waste management company in a federal class action lawsuit challenging certain of the company’s fees and charges to customers. Mr. Burke took the lead in litigating a number of disputes concerning the scope and extent of plaintiffs’ discovery of electronically stored information contained on the company’s extensive active and backup systems. Following over a year of litigation at both the district and appellate levels, the discovery disputes resolved favorably to Mr. Burke’s client through a combination of favorable rulings and settlements.
Representing a number of manufacturers of fire hydrants in prolonged five-year litigation against a major oil and petrochemical company whose grease allegedly caused excessive corrosion of internal parts, necessitating multi-million dollar recalls of hydrants in use throughout the country and world.
Representing a bankruptcy trustee that sued the parent companies, investors and officers of a corporate debtor in bankruptcy that had operated a failed coal mine. Mr. Burke alleged on behalf of the trustee that the equity stakeholders and officers had breached fiduciary duties to the debtor and its creditors in a deepening insolvency situation.
Representing a water works product manufacturer in a case of wrongful death arising from improper installation of its product.
Representing a manufacturer of electronic components in a dispute with its customer who asserted various defects in the supplied components.
Representing an electric utility company accused of wantonly and negligently causing a fire that burned down the plaintiffs’ home.
Representing an international tractor truck manufacturer in a wrongful death case alleging that defective seatbelts had caused the plaintiff’s death in an allegedly survivable accident.
Representing a pipe manufacturer in a wrongful death case arising from the improper unloading of pipe.
Representing a number of franchised gasoline station owners alleging that their franchisor, a major oil and petrochemical company, had engaged in unfair competition and commercial bad faith by favoring competing company-owned stations to the disadvantage of Mr. Burke’s clients.
Mr. Burke is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Alabama and Mississippi, as well as the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits.
Mr. Burke received his B.S., magna cum laude, in accounting from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he received the Robert E. Goldsten Award presented by the faculty. Following law school, Mr. Burke served for a year as a judicial clerk to The Honorable W. Harold Albritton III, U.S. District Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
Before college, Mr. Burke served his country in the United States Marine Corps as a rifleman. While pursuing his undergraduate studies, Mr. Burke served the Birmingham community as a patrol officer with the Birmingham Police Department.
Marty also serves as a Director and as General Counsel for Urban Purpose, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on developing one-on-one personal relationships with Birmingham’s homeless, assisting them with alcohol and drug rehabilitation efforts, and ultimately providing them with the housing, life-skill training, mentoring and community necessary to achieve independence, happiness and personal fulfillment.