Brown, Somer G.

Before it was popular, Martha was practicing Elder Law. Before other attorneys were touting themselves as the gurus of special needs planning, Martha had already blazed the trail. She began her practice working in a general practice firm where the attorneys did just about anything, But, none of the attorneys wanted to represent clients in guardianship cases. Martha signed on as the attorney for those types of cases and this eventually led to the court appointing her to serve as a guardian for incapacitated people. When one of these clients needed Medicaid, Martha learned the Medicaid rules and applied them on behalf of the client. Eventually, she saw a need to help people with disabilities. There was no real legal resource for these types of clients, so Martha learned everything she could about the legal needs and solutions for clients with disabilities. There were no reference books on the subject, so Martha read the Federal and Missouri statuTes, rules and laws, and then read them again, and figured out how to help these clients.

Martha focused on developing a firm that concentrated on the needs of the elderly, incapacitated and those with disabilities. After joining he National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, she recognized the importance of Missouri law as it related to the new and emerging area of Elder Law.

As time progressed, her reputation grew as the Elder Law attorney in the St. Louis area, but she didn't sit on this title. She continued to educate herself and serve the organizations that helped the elderly and disabled. She became involved in the Alzheimer's Association, Mid-East Area Agency on Aging and many other organizations.

Martha became a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) in 2000. She has seen her hard work and diligence of making people aware of the issues facing the elderly pay off. She is considered one of the leading Elder Law attorneys in the nation. She has been honored with a Fellowship from NAELA and was the Powley award recipient in 2008.