Born in Grinnell, Iowa, Martha A. Geer is the daughter of Lucien M. Geer, who was a teacher and coach at the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA, and Sylvia Geer, a retired teacher in the Arlington, VA public school system.

Graduate of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA in 1976. Graduate of Bryn Mawr College summa cum laude with Honors in Sociology in 1980. Graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law with High Honors in 1983. Judge Geer attended the Law School as a Morehead Fellow and served as the Managing Editor of the North Carolina Law Review.

Judge Geer was an associate with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a corporate litigation firm in New York, NY from 1983-1986. From 1986 through 1991, she was an associate and then partner with Smith, Patterson, Follin, Curtis, James, Harkavy & Lawrence, a firm based in Greensboro and Raleigh, NC. From 1991 through 2002, she was a founding partner of Patterson, Harkavy & Lawrence, L.L.P., located in Raleigh, NC.

Her practice focused on litigation with extensive appellate work in the areas of employment law, business litigation, constitutional law, and workers' compensation. Shehandled more than 50 appeals to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, the North Carolina Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Judge Geer was elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals in November 2002.

American Bar Association: Past co-chair of Ethics in Litigation Subcommittee of the Employee Rights and Responsibilities Committee

North Carolina Bar Association: Member, Appellate Rules Study Committee; Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities Council. Past Member, Labor & Employment Law Council; Trial Practice Curriculum Committee

North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers: Past Member, Board of Governors

North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys

In connection with her work with these professional organizations, Judge Geer has taught more than 40 seminars in the areas of trial and appellate practice, ethics, employment law, and workers' compensation.

Outstanding Appellate Judge Award, N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers (2005). Dybwad Humanitarian Award, American Association of Mental Retardation (2004). Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America (2002). Selected in January 2002 and January 2003 as one of the top 200 lawyers in North Carolina by Business North Carolina magazine.