McGuireWoods partner George Keith Martin has been included on The American Lawyer’s inaugural list of 2021 South Trailblazers. The honor is reserved for lawyers based in the South who have been agents of change in the legal industry.
Martin, former managing partner of the firm’s Richmond, Virginia, office, practices construction, commercial real estate and local government law. He has more than 25 years of experience handling construction-related matters, including joint ventures, public-private partnerships and project finance transactions.
Martin was honored for assisting clients in developing innovative financing strategies to advance public-private partnerships for new college dormitories, public arenas and other critical infrastructure projects in Virginia and around the country. These strategies include mechanisms such as synthetic tax increment financing (synthetic TIFs).
“We know from experience that innovative structures such as synthetic TIFs hold the potential to unlock transformational community development plans, from transit infrastructure to public multi-use projects,” Martin told The American Lawyer. “Tight budgets can make cash outlays or tax increases politically perilous if not impossible in today’s climate. Public-private partnerships are an effective solution.”
Martin is a member of the firm’s education law team and handles education-related real estate and construction matters. He has received numerous national, state and local honors for contributions to the law and public service. He previously served on the University of Virginia board of visitors and in 2013 became the first African American to lead the board as rector. He currently serves on UVA’s Miller Center Governing Council, Jefferson Scholars Foundation board and School of Architecture Foundation board.
In 2019, Martin served on the executive committee that helped organize programs for the Commemoration of the First African Landing in Hampton, Virginia, where the first enslaved African men and women were brought to the English colonies 400 years earlier. He also served on the 400 Years of African American History Commission.
“I am honored to be included in The American Lawyer’s inaugural class of South Trailblazers and am grateful to my friends and colleagues at McGuireWoods for their unwavering support,” Martin said.