At this time each year, I selfishly dedicate some blog space to a tribute for my dear friend and mentor Marty Dunn, who passed away five years ago this month. Marty was a distinguished member of this community and a legendary member of the SEC Staff.

I have been thinking a lot about mentorship these days as Liz and I record our podcast series “Mentorship Matters with Dave & Liz,” and today I want to focus on how Marty’s generous mentoring continues on for me to this day, even though he is no longer able to serve as my mentor in the traditional sense. I often find myself asking “What Would Marty Do?” when confronted with a tough question or situation, and then I try to remember how he would approach that question or situation, break down a problem or pursue an opportunity. While I do not always come out on things the same way that Marty would have, stepping back and adopting his analytical approach is often very useful for me when seeking an answer or solution. Asking this simple question also keeps his legacy alive for me, and that is comforting in and of itself.

For example, one of the many things that Marty had mastered during his life was how to entertain and engage an audience. In his many speaking engagements over the years, he was always able to make things both fun and interesting, which audiences appreciated when sitting through a day of otherwise very dry panel presentations. When I was involved with planning the Northwestern Law Securities Regulation Institute that took place in January of this year, we were looking for an interesting and entertaining way of presenting the many issues that practitioners encounter when dealing with executive officers and directors. I of course asked myself “What Would Marty Do?” and recalled a panel that he and I had done way back in 2013, when Marty had conceived of conducting an entire panel in the format of the ESPN show “Pardon the Interruption,” which provided a very fast-paced format for covering a significant amount of substantive material. Fortunately, the panel was so popular back in 2013 that the organizers of the Securities Regulation Institute had distributed a thumb drive with a recording of the panel, so adopting that format for this year’s program was an easy sell once everyone saw how well it had worked in the past. We did the program earlier this year using Marty’s PTI format and it received great reviews, thus confirming my belief that still looking to Marty for inspiration and mentorship provides me with valuable insights, along with an opportunity to maintain our connection.

Rest in peace, my friend.

– Dave Lynn