Partner Antonio C. Martinez II
Antonio C. Martinez II is a native New Yorker, and the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a Juris Doctorate Degree from Brooklyn Law School. He attended the United States Capitol Page School and is a graduate of New York Military Academy. His father, the late Antonio C. Martinez, Esq., was one of the first Dominican American members of the New York State Bar. The Martinez family has been providing legal services since 1956.
Mr. Martinez has significant business and legal experience in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Cuba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico. He is recognized as one of the foremost legal authorities on U.S. Cuba relations in the Northeast being quoted in the New York Times, the Guardian, the Voice of America, the Huffington Post, the Tampa Tribune, and other media. He accurately forecast the reset of U.S. Cuba relations in December 2014 in a blog post he authored in May 2012 in USCubaPolitics.com. Mr. Martinez is a prolific public speaker and regularly appears in print and broadcast media.
He has successfully advised clients with Cuban Assets Control regulation and sanctions compliance as well as facilitate U.S. Treasury authorized sales transactions to Cuba.
He has obtained a superlative Cuba business consulting and travel experience including:
- More than thirty trips to Cuba since 1999.
- Serving as a member of multiple U.S. Delegations to Alimport U.S. Cuba Agriculture Sales Negotiations
- Serving as a member of multiple U.S. Delegations to Havana International Trade Fairs
- Leading Agricultural trade missions for clients between 2002-2010
- Organized trade mission for Governor Bill Richardson (New Mexico)
- Organized trade mission for then Rep., now U.S. Senator Tom Udall (New Mexico)
- Organized trade mission for New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Miley Gonzalez.
Mr. Martinez extensive travel includes 45 of the 50 states and 26 foreign countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. He is a member of the State and Federal Bars of New Jersey, New York, and the District of Columbia. As an Attorney at Law, he maintains a Distinguished Level rating by Martindale Hubbell for more than fifteen years.
Through a diverse professional background and career with stints in government, the corporate world, the political, and public interest arenas, Mr. Martinez is able to bring a diverse set of skills to bear for his clients. He knows how to work with people and government. He helps them manage complex issues, seek conflict resolution, and settlement of disputes.
Mr. Martinez began working with the U.S. Congress at the age of 16 when he served as a Senate Page to the late U.S. Senator Jacob Javits (R-NY) in 1980 and for the U.S. Senate Majority Leadership in 1981. His past government experience includes positions with the U.S. Senate Library, the US Department of Justice, Civil Division, Admiralty and Environmental Law Section in New York City, the Legal Division of the New York City Council, and as a Mediator for the Community Dispute Resolution Center of Kings County, New York . His past corporate experience includes service as Vice President of Government Relations and Consumer Health at American Specialty Health Inc, San Diego, CA, and Vice President and General Counsel to Elant Inc, Goshen, NY. He also served as President and Executive Director of Somos el Futuro Inc. (www.somosnewyork.org) from 2010 to 2013, where he continues to serve the organization.
