Martin D. Gould

Martin D. Gould is a Founding Partner at Gould Grieco & Hensley (GGH), where he leads some of the firm’s most complex litigations while also Co-Chairing the firm’s Sexual Abuse Practice Group. He has litigated in over 25 jurisdictions in both state and federal court. Throughout his career, Martin has played a key role in securing hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts on behalf of individuals and classes of victims and their families in cases involving catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, mass disasters, product liability, toxic exposure, medical malpractice, motor vehicle and trucking accidents, workplace accidents, civil rights, and institutional sexual abuse and assaults, including global settlements in multi-plaintiff sexual abuse litigations totaling over $485 million.

In addition to leading litigation teams, Martin oversees the firm’s case intake team, process, and referrals, collaborating closely with strategic partners and attorneys across the country.

Martin has played a key role in securing numerous record-breaking multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of injured clients and their families which include: a $44.7 million verdict against the City of Chicago in a case where an off-duty police officer shot a construction worker in the head leaving him paralyzed (this was the largest verdict in Illinois and one of the largest in the country for a police misconduct case); $21.337 million verdict for the family of a mother killed in a car accident with a municipal vehicle; a $14 million settlement for a temp worker who had multiple fingers amputated while operating a metal fabrication machine which lacked critical safety guarding; a $12.35 million settlement on the eve of trial in a medical malpractice case involving the misdiagnosis of breast cancer resulting in a mother’s premature death (the largest recorded settlement in Illinois for a misdiagnosis of breast cancer case); a $9.35 million settlement involving a forklift accident; a $8 million settlement in a medical malpractice case involving the delayed diagnosis and treatment of a spinal cord compression; and over $50 million in the past 18 months on behalf of clergy abuse survivors.

Martin has devoted a significant portion of his practice to helping survivors of rape, sexual assault, and childhood sexual abuse find justice, financial compensation, and closure through the legal system. Prior to co-founding GGH, Martin served as a Partner at a prominent national personal injury law firm based in Chicago, where he led and managed the firm’s Sexual Abuse Practice Group.

As Co-Chair of GGH’s Sexual Abuse Practice Group, Martin and his team have represented and continue to represent thousands of survivors of rape, sexual assault, and childhood sexual abuse including in many of the highest profile abuse cases across the country. These cases include claims against institutions such as the Boy Scouts of America, the Boys & Girls Club, University of Michigan (Dr. Robert Anderson), Michigan State University (Dr. Larry Nasser), Endeavor Health (Dr. Fabio Ortega), professional sports teams, private and public schools, elite private boarding schools, orphanages, foster care programs, hospitals, mental health facilities, Fortune 500 companies, wealthy individuals (Jeffrey Epstein), and numerous religious institutions and related entities (ranging from the Catholic Church, religious orders and the YMCA, to Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormon Church, SBC, and the Royal Rangers Youth Organization). Among many significant financial recoveries he has obtained for survivors in multi-plaintiff cases and as part of global resolutions, Martin takes particular pride in his work fighting for and securing record recoveries on behalf of individual survivors as well.  Using creative legal strategies, aggressive litigation and investigative tactics, and subject matter expertise developed from over a decade of work fighting for survivors, Martin has recently secured several record recoveries for individual survivors:  

• Record $21.3 million settlement (2023) on behalf of a minor who was sexually abused at a hotel; the settlement was the largest ever reported for a sexual abuse case in Ohio and one of the largest settlements in the country for an individual survivor.

• Record $10 million clergy abuse settlement on the eve of trial (2024) in a clergy abuse case. The settlement is the largest clergy abuse settlement in the country for an individual survivor (tied for largest with a case in CA).

• Record $17.5 million school abuse settlement at the start of trial (2025) in a case involving a dean of students who sexually abused one of his former students while she was a minor; the settlement is the highest reported recovery (verdict or settlement) for a sexual abuse case in a school or educational setting in Illinois history, the second largest recovery for a sexual abuse case in Illinois history, and one of the largest sexual abuse settlements in the country for an individual survivor.

In 2023, Martin conducted an extensive investigation that exposed the systemic sexual and physical abuse of children at The Lord’s Ranch, a residential religious camp and therapeutic facility in Warm Springs, Arkansas. As co-lead counsel in the investigation and lawsuits, Martin represents over 45 former residents who endured horrific abuse as children while residing at the facility. The camp, which took in children ranging from 7-17 years of age from across the country, became a haven for predators who preyed upon vulnerable children. Martin’s press conference and subsequent lawsuits shed light on the horrors of The Lord’s Ranch, leading dozens of survivors and witnesses to come forward and join the fight for justice. This case has garnered national media attention, with over 100 media outlets reporting on the lawsuits.

Alongside his Partners, Martin has led some of the most significant lawsuits and investigations on behalf of survivors:

• Roblox / Discord: Martin and the GGH team are leading efforts nationwide to hold Roblox, Discord, and other major platforms accountable for enabling the grooming, exploitation, and abuse of children by online predators, and for lulling parents and users into a false sense of security through misleading advertising regarding the safety of these platforms. The team, which represents hundreds of survivors including well-known whistleblower “Schlep,” has filed numerous lawsuits in federal and state courts across the country. In addition to the litigation, the team has also been advocating for child safety legislation to better protect the next generation of children.

• Clergy abuse: represented over 1,000 survivors of clergy abuse across the country, including Illinois, California, Michigan, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, and Arizona, recovering numerous record multi-million-dollar recoveries in cases involving Dioceses, religious orders, and related Church entities. In just one recent case, Martin and his team took over 50 depositions, where they were able to secure one of the largest settlements in the country on behalf of an individual survivor while also uncovering critical evidence relevant to all cases regarding widespread knowledge and cover-ups of serial predators and systemic abuse.  

• Youth residential treatment centers (YRTC) abuse:  Martin and his team have been enlisted to lead investigations and lawsuits into alleged systemic sexual abuse at numerous youth residential treatment centers (YRTC) across the country, now representing and leading cases on behalf of hundreds of former patients in claims against the multi-billion dollar hospital management companies that owned these facilities and are alleged to have employed the predatory staff and turned a blind eye to systemic child abuse.

• Juvenile detention centers / juvenile hall (JDC) abuse: the team is representing over 2,000 survivors of sexual abuse at numerous JDC facilities across the country, in claims against the governmental entities that owned and operated these facilities and failed to keep our clients safe – or worse, actively abused them.

• Physician abuse: represented hundreds of survivors of physician abuse across the country, who were sexually abused by a physician under the guise of being provided necessary medical care. Those cases include over 300 women sexually abused by OB/GYN Dr. Fabio Ortega (Illinois).  Martin currently co-leads cases on behalf of over 450 former patients alleged to have been sexually abused by OB/GYN Dr. Barry Brock (California), OB/GYN Dr. Scott Lee (California), emergency room physician Dr. Tyler Hurst (Montana), and rheumatologist / primary care physician Dr. Derrick Todd (Massachusetts).

In addition to securing financial recoveries, Martin and the GGH team have actively fought for changes in policy, training, and the law to better protect future generations. For example, as part of the recent $21.3 million settlement in the hotel abuse case earlier this year, Martin and his client successfully secured policy and training changes for thousands of hotels improving hotel pre-employment screening and safety for hotel guests and employees nationwide. He has also helped secure a landmark settlement and consent decree in a class action lawsuit against the City of Chicago following seven years of litigation, resulting in court-ordered and supervised changes in policies, practices, and training.

While Martin’s zealous advocacy and creative litigation strategies have led to multi-million-dollar resolutions, he recognizes that each client’s story, trauma, and healing process are unique. Martin strives to provide compassionate, attentive, and personalized representation for every client.

Martin’s dedication to seeking justice extends beyond these landmark cases. He understands the lasting impact of child abuse and has taken on school bullying and hazing cases, even when other law firms have been reluctant due to legal hurdles. In one notable case, Martin secured a $250,000 verdict in a school bullying case involving an autistic boy, marking one of the largest school bullying verdicts ever reported in Illinois.

Martin regularly appears in national and local media including radio and television to comment on his cases or other important legal matters. Martin and his cases have been featured by The New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, NBC Nightly News (National), U.S. News & World Report, CBS News (national), ABC 7 Eyewitness News, The Guardian, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, NBC Channel 4 – Los Angeles, Daily Herald, BuzzFeed, PEOPLE Magazine, The Legal Broadcasting Network, NBC News (Channel 5), Fox 32,  WBEZ, WGN-TV. 

Martin’s commitment to excellence is evident in his academic achievements. He graduated cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he was a published member of the Chicago-Kent Law Review. He was also a Legal Writing Teaching Assistant, and received the CALI Award six times for achieving the highest grade in the class in Legal Writing I, I & III, Illinois Evidence, Pre-Trial Civil Litigation, and Conflicts of Law. Martin’s leadership extends to numerous legal organizations, including the American Association for Justice; Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, where he serves on the Board of Advocates; and the Chicago Bar Association, where he served as Chair of the 7,000 member YLS and currently serves on the Board of Managers (leading an association consisting of 17,000 lawyers and judges). He also holds leadership positions in two of the premier organizations in the country dedicated to helping survivors of sexual abuse seek justice through the civil court system and help rebuild their lives. In that regard, Martin serves on the Advisory Board of the National Crime Victims Bar Association (NCVBA), the nation’s first (and largest) professional association of attorneys and expert witnesses dedicated to assisting survivors of abuse by providing legal assistance, support, education, and resources; he is also actively involved in leadership at Child USA, a nonprofit think tank which seeks to end child sexual abuse and neglect through raising awareness and lobbying for statute of limitations (SOL) reform in the U.S. and around the globe. Martin serves on the Board of Child USA’s Gold Standard Program, comprised of a team of industry experts who evaluate child sexual abuse prevention programs in youth-serving organizations and provide recommendations for improvement to better protect children under their care. 

Martin’s dedication to aggressively fight for his clients, and to relentlessly pursue justice against any defendant irrespective of who they are, is rooted in his unwavering conviction that his clients’ cause and that of all survivors is a righteous one. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Northwestern University, where he was a four-year member of the Northwestern Varsity Wrestling Team. The team placed 4th in the NCAAs Martin’s sophomore year.  When Martin is not litigating or on trial, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children, and coaching youth wrestling, football, and T-ball.