George Keith Martin served as the managing partner of the largest office of McGuireWoods from 2009 to 2021—the longest tenure of a managing partner of the Richmond, Virginia, office.   He also served on the firm’s advisory, pension and recruiting committees, and on the McGuireWoods Consulting Oversight Committee, the firm’s subsidiary.

Mr. Martin specializes in real estate finance, construction law, commercial real estate, project finance, and public private partnerships.  He co-authored a book on construction law and has lectured nationally on numerous real estate related topics, including public-private partnerships.  He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia School of Law and a fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation, which is limited to one percent of practicing attorneys.

Mr. Martin has received numerous awards, including the University of Virginia’s Raven Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award.  He also received the NAACP/UVa Black Student Alliance Image Award, Richmond Public Schools Foundation Living Legend Award, John Jasper Trailblazer Award, Ruth Coles Harris Leadership Institute Leadership Award, and UVa Club of Richmond/Ridley Fund Trailblazer Award.  Further, he was awarded the prestigious Hill-Tucker Public Service Award by the Richmond Bar Association, and he was selected to the Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame class of 2022 by Virginia Lawyers Weekly.  Recently, HomeAgain, a nonprofit organization serving the Richmond area that helps families and individuals experiencing homelessness obtain safe and affordable housing, honored Mr. Martin with the Ann and Don King Community Leadership Award.

In 2014 and 2015, Mr. Martin was honored as one of the 50 Most Influential Virginians by Virginia Business magazine.  He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Legal Elite, as well as by Savoy magazine as one of the Most Influential Black Lawyers in the U.S.  In 2014, he was honored by the Virginia Bar Association with the LexisNexis Award for Extraordinary Leadership and Dedication to the Legal Profession and Public Service. 

In 2011, Mr. Martin was appointed to the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia.  He was the rector of the University of Virginia from 2013 to 2015, the first African American to hold this position once held by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and chaired the Executive Committee.  He also chaired the Audit Committee and co-chaired the Governance Committee while serving as vice rector.

Mr. Martin has served on numerous boards, including as a current member of the Fulton Bank Board and its holding company Fulton Financial Corporation.  At the University of Virginia, he serves as vice chair of the Miller Center Governing Council, the University’s think tank. He previously served on the Executive Committee of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation Board and continues to serve on the National Selection Committee.  He also serves on the President’s Commission on the University in the Age of Segregation and the President’s African American Alumni Advisory Committee. 

Mr. Martin earned his B.A. from the University of Virginia.  He followed in his mother’s footsteps and received his J.D. from Howard University School of Law (Washington, D.C.), where he was the number two editor on the law review.

George and his wife Anita have three adult daughters.