Martha Africa

Martha Fay Africa

March 23, 1943 - January 21, 2015

We mark with great sadness the death of Martha Fay ("Marty") Africa, who passed away on January 21st after a protracted battle with cancer. Marty was a founder and name partner of Major, Lindsey & Africa, a global legal services firm, and continued to serve as an active member of MLA until shortly before her death.

Born in Newton, MA on March 23rd, 1943, Marty spent summers with stacks of books in the bleachers of Fenway Park followed by winters under the attentive eyes of local librarians; her insatiable curiosity about the world doubled as a way out. She won a full scholarship to Chatham College in Pittsburgh, PA, and completed her degree at the University of California, Berkeley alongside her first husband, then at the start of his Ph.D. During those years, she held administrative leadership roles at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, followed by stints at MIT and Duke University respectively. The couple was joined by a son, Matthew Kane Africa, while at Duke. A second child, Julia Kane Africa, was born in Berkeley during Marty's tenure as Assistant Director of Admissions and Director of Law Placement at the University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law. Her term was notable for her devotion to increasing the admission and opportunities afforded women and minorities in the legal field.

Marty left academia to join Bob Major in 1984 and form the core of what is today Major, Lindsey & Africa. She conducted searches at all levels, from General Counsel to Executive Director for major corporations, not-for-profit organizations, and educational institutions. Marty was passionate about the role of legal search in improving law practice management and brought a uniquely powerful combination of professional ethics, commitment to equality, critical thinking, and intuitive matchmaking skills to her placements, earning a place of reverence among her peers. Throughout the mid-1980s and 1990s, Marty's broad-based substantive knowledge of, and passion for, the diversity imperative, coupled with her unusually empathetic grasp of the unique barriers facing each respective group, were essential to the development of particularly effective programs through Bar Association of San Francisco and the American Bar Association. .Marty was the founder and inspiration for the ABA's extraordinarily successful Women Rainmakers group in 1992, with the express purpose of promoting the advancement of women in the profession. She also served as the Law Practice liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, the Law Practice liaison to the ABA Commission on Minorities, as well as on a number of non-profit boards. Marty's lifelong interest in science found an outlet as a board member of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography Council. Her irrepressible joie de vivre and legacy of kindness, wisdom, passion and true grit live on in the individuals and organizations that trace the roots of their success to Marty's guidance. Marty is survived by her daughter, Julia Africa of Cambridge, MA and her husband, Stewart Levine, Alameda, CA. A private memorial service is planned for March 8th at Delancy Street in San Francisco. No flowers are requested, please, and information regarding charitable donations will be available at that time on request.