Martha has practiced law since 1982 and was a founding partner of Deats, Durst & Owen, PLLC. She graduated with special honors in Plan II from the University of Texas at Austin in 1979 and received her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1982. Her practice focused on the representation of labor unions and their members across a spectrum of public and private sector unions. She served as General Counsel of the Texas Federation of Teachers, AFT, AFL-CIO from 1991 through 2023. She has been selected as a “Texas Super Lawyer” for many years, including from 2019 – 2023, and has been included in Best Lawyers in America in the area of labor and employment law since 1997.
 

Since 2024, Martha has limited her practice to serving as Special Counsel to Texas AFT.