Payton B. Martinez

Payton B. Martinez serves as an attorney at After Service LLC, specializing in VA disability compensation claims and appeals. Payton is passionate about client-centered advocacy, and dedicated to assisting veterans navigate the complex Veterans Affairs’ system in order to obtain the benefits they are entitled to.

Prior to joining After Service LLC, Payton was a founding member of the Rocky Mountain Veterans Advocacy Project (RMVAP), a low bono legal clinic providing military and veteran legal advocacy services. At the RMVAP, Payton worked primarily on VA disability compensation claims and discharge upgrade cases. Payton continues to serve on the board of the RMVAP.

After co-founding the RMVAP, Payton worked as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington & Idaho, where she represented individuals charged with federal criminal offenses in magistrate, district court, and appellate proceedings. Payton then joined the Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Tennessee, where she represented death row prisoners in federal habeas corpus proceedings.

Payton earned her J.D. from University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, where she graduated in the top 15% of her class. While in law school, Payton served as a Student Attorney with the Veterans Advocacy Project. Payton earned her bachelor’s degree in religious studies and international Affairs at the University of Colorado at Boulder.