Martin Syvertsen is a Partner in the Litigation Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. Mr. Syvertsen was a Partner at Freeborn & Peters, which combined with SGR in 2023.
Mr. Syvertsen came to the Firm after serving as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County where he honed his skills in state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate court level.
Mr. Syvertsen served in the Criminal Prosecutions Bureau where he handled numerous appeals, arguing before the Illinois Appellate Court, and handled felonies and misdemeanors from their inception through numerous jury trials and hundreds of bench trials. He also served in the Civil Actions Bureau where he was in the Federal Civil Rights and Torts Unit and the Complex Litigation Unit. He represented police officers, public officials, judges, prosecutors, public defenders, doctors, and county agencies in a wide variety of complex litigation. Martin achieved successful results in federal jury trials and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Mr. Syvertsen earned his undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He served as an adjunct professor in the trial advocacy program at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he coached a trial team and was named the law school’s Coach of the Year in 2012. He was an extern for the James D. Egan, Cook County Circuit Court, Law Division.
Outside of work, Mr. Syvertsen and his wife, Maggie, chase around their two young kids, repeatedly saving them from themselves with almost no acknowledgment from said children. Ideally, he would accept every invite to play pick-up basketball or pretty much any other sport.
Judicial Evaluation Committee, Chicago Bar Association
Member, Chicago Bar Association
Steering Committee of the Loyola Academy Bar Association
Junior Board Member, Urban Initiatives