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Inside Martin & Bonnett, PLLC, the Phoenix firm that has spent three decades doing something unusual in employment law: representing only employees, never employers, in cases that have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars nationwide.
Martin & Bonnett — At a Glance
| FIRM | Martin & Bonnett, PLLC |
| FOUNDED | 1994, Phoenix — Susan Martin and Daniel Bonnett |
| FOCUS | Employee-side only: employment discrimination, wage and hour (FLSA), ERISA pension and benefits litigation, class actions, union-side labor law |
| RECOGNITION | Susan Martin — Best Lawyers 2025 “Lawyer of the Year,” Employment Law – Individuals, Phoenix |
| KEY DISTINCTION | The firm states plainly that, unlike many employment firms, it exclusively represents employees — never employers |
| OFFICE | Park Place, 4647 N. 32nd St., Suite 185, Phoenix, AZ 85018 |
| CONTACT | (602) 240-6900 · martinbonnett.com |
Origin: Two Founders, One Rule — Employees Only
Susan Martin earned her law degree from NYU School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Antioch College, and is admitted to practice in New York and Arizona. Daniel Bonnett is a graduate of Augustana College and Drake University School of Law, admitted in Illinois, Iowa, and Arizona, and previously practiced corporate law and general litigation as a partner at a northern Illinois firm before moving to Phoenix. Together they founded Martin & Bonnett in 1994 with a firm-wide rule that sets them apart from most employment practices: they represent employees and retirees exclusively, never employers.
Practice Areas
The firm handles employment discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful discharge claims under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, and the FMLA; wage and hour claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, including misclassification and overtime disputes; and — Martin & Bonnett’s signature niche — ERISA pension and employee benefits litigation, an area the firm notes few plaintiff-side attorneys are willing to take on. Susan Martin is also an active union-side labor lawyer, representing unions across multiple industries and serving as chief negotiator for musicians in numerous symphony orchestras nationally.
Track Record
The firm reports having recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for employees and retirees nationwide over three decades, including class actions and individual ERISA pension disputes. One case study the firm publishes involves a retired mine supervisor who, after 18 years of receiving his pension, was told at age 79 that the plan administrator had discovered an “overpayment” of $18,363.44 and would terminate his benefits; Martin & Bonnett secured reinstatement of his pension and dismissal of the repayment claim.
Past-Results Disclaimer: These are the firm’s own case summaries. Every case is different, and no past result guarantees a similar outcome in any future matter.
Client Voice
A client identified as Tom F. described being the class representative in a class-action lawsuit against a multibillion-dollar Fortune 100 employer over pension issues, calling it his first real encounter with the judicial system. Another reviewer specifically credited attorneys Jennifer Kroll and Susan Martin with securing a pension settlement faster than his case had taken to reach that point in the ERISA process, and separately, a retired truck driver described the firm’s work resolving wage-and-hour issues affecting himself and coworkers.
Community
Susan Martin is a member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Labor and Employment Law, where she has served as Co-Chair of the Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee, and is also a member of the Arizona Employment Lawyers Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the AFL-CIO’s Lawyers Coordinating Committee. She has lectured extensively on ERISA, pension, employment, and labor law.
Recognition
Susan Martin was named Best Lawyers’ 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” for Employment Law – Individuals in Phoenix — a peer-reviewed, research-based distinction. The firm’s “ERISA Law Firm of the Year in Arizona” award from Global Law Experts’ 2020 Annual Awards is worth noting separately: it’s a legal-industry recognition program, not an independently peer-vetted credential on the level of Best Lawyers, and readers should weigh it accordingly.
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.
Employment discrimination claims run through both federal law (Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA) and Arizona’s own civil rights statute, A.R.S. § 41-1463. Arizona is an at-will employment state, with exceptions codified in the Arizona Employment Protection Act, A.R.S. § 23-1501. Arizona’s minimum wage and paid sick time requirements — separate from and often higher than federal minimums — run through A.R.S. § 23-362 et seq., the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act adopted by voters in 2016. ERISA itself, the federal law governing most of Martin & Bonnett’s pension work, preempts most state law in this area, which is part of why it takes a specific kind of specialized practice to litigate well.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
Martin & Bonnett’s genuine differentiator is a firm-wide, explicit commitment to representing only employees — a real distinction from the many employment firms that handle matters for both sides depending on who walks in the door — combined with real depth in ERISA pension litigation, a niche the firm itself notes few plaintiff-side attorneys are willing to take on.
The honest caveat: this is a litigation-focused, often class-action-oriented practice built for complex or high-stakes matters — individuals with a small, straightforward wage dispute may find a lower-overhead practice a faster or more cost-effective fit.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from martinbonnett.com (firm site, attorney bios, case summaries), Lawyers.com, FindLaw, and the Chamber of Commerce business directory. Martin & Bonnett, PLLC did not commission, review, or pay for this profile.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
This profile is an independent editorial article published by Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any lawyer or law firm profiled on this site, and inclusion in this series is not paid placement.