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Maryland Lawyers in the News: February 27, 2011

The Daily Record (Baltimore) February 27, 2011 Alex J. Brown has joined Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin & White, of Baltimore, as a member. He has 11 years of experience practicing in both the public and private sectors, including serving as senior counsel to the Maryland Insurance Administration and as an assistant attorney general at the Maryland Insurance Administration. Brown has represented insurance policyholders, insurers, Risk Retention Groups and insurance professionals in complex insurance litigation and transactional insurance matters. He is a graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Richard Levine, partner in DLA Piper’s Baltimore office, has been named to the board of directors of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. At DLA Piper, Levine focuses his practice on real estate, tax and partnership matters, with specific emphasis on sophisticated tax planning. He also serves on the board of the Rollins-Luetkemeyer Foundation and is a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and national co-chairman of the American Law Institute-American Bar Association program “Creative Tax Planning for Real Estate Transactions.” The Baltimore office of DLA Piper has been recognized by Baltimore Magazine as one of its “2011 Best Places to Work.” This is the third time in the past five surveys that the firm has been selected for the annual feature. DLA Piper is the only law firm listed as a “Hall of Fame Employer.” Hodes, Pessin & Katz has been recognized by Baltimore Magazine as one of its “2011 Best Places to Work.” The law firm’s main office is in Towson. HPK has additional offices in Columbia, Bel Air and Cambridge.

Kelly Lippincott, a products liability and insurance coverage attorney, has been elected as a member of Carr Maloney. Lippincott, whose practice area also includes professional and general liability, civil litigation and employment and labor law, has been with Carr Maloney since 2006. During law school, she served as a student attorney in the Criminal Justice Clinic, representing criminal defendants and prosecuting criminal matters in Montgomery County District Court.

Natalie C. Magdeburger of Hodes, Pessin & Katz has been named one of the Top 25 Women on the 2011 Maryland Super Lawyers list. She is recognized for her primary area of practice: medical malpractice defense. Magdeburger is a University of Maryland School of Law graduate, Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, of Baltimore, had 14 of its attorneys selected for the 2011 Maryland Super Lawyers list: bankruptcy & creditor/debtor rights: Lawrence D. Coppel; business litigation: Lawrence S. Greenwald and Jerrold A. Thrope; business/corporate: Herbert Goldman and Abba David Poliakoff; employee benefits/ERISA: Matthew P. Mellin; estate planning & probate: Lowell G. Herman; family law: Sheila K. Sachs; health care: Barry F. Rosen; mergers & acquisitions: William M. Davidow Jr.; personal injury plaintiff-general: Eric N. Schloss; real estate: Timothy D.A. Chriss, David H. Fishman and Edward J. Levin.

Wright, Constable & Skeen, of Baltimore and Towson, had 11 of its partners selected for the 2011 Maryland Super Lawyers list: James W. Constable and Paul F. Evelius, business/corporate; Monte Fried, employment & labor; Michael I. Gordon and Mary Alice Smolarek, estate planning & probate; Robert W. Hesselbacher Jr., business litigation; Louis J. Kozlakowski Jr. and Gerard P. Sunderland, construction/surety; David W. Skeen and Stephen F. White, transportation/maritime; and Howard S. Stevens, construction litigation. Also, three associates were named Rising Stars: Mollie G. Caplis, family law; Meighan Burton, general litigation; and Jason R. Potter, construction/surety.

Tydings & Rosenberg, of Baltimore, had 15 members selected for the 2011 Maryland Super Lawyers list: Brian A. Balenson, Herbert J. Belgrad, Glenn E. Bushel, William W. Carrier III, Maria Ellena Chavez-Ruark, Mark D. Dopkin, Emerson L. Dorsey Jr., Alan M. Grochal, John B. Isbister, Daniel S. Katz, Lee B. Rauch, Richard D. Rosenthal, William C. Sammons, Barry Weiskopf, and Thomas M. Wilson. Recognized as “Rising Stars” were Gregory M. Garrett, Kristin P. Herber, Toyja E. Kelley, and Laurie M. Wasserman. site maryland board of physicians

Frederick L. Kobb, a partner with Wright, Constable & Skeen, of Baltimore, will chair the Strategic Planning Committee of the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. This is his second year on the MVLS board. His practice concentration includes family law, separation and divorce, custody, child support, spousal abuse, adoption, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and adult guardianships. Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service is a nonprofit organization that connects low-income Marylanders in need of civil legal assistance with pro bono attorneys.

Richard C. Bittner was recently reappointed by Gov. Martin O’Malley to the Maryland Board of Physicians for a four-year term. Bittner, who maintains a general law trial practice in Glen Burnie, was first appointed to the board in 2007 after serving 17 years on the Anne Arundel County Liquor Board, the last 12 as chairman. He is a graduated of the University of Baltimore County and the University of Baltimore School of Law.

James A. List, founding partner of The Law Offices of James A. List, of Towson, has been named to the 2011 List of Five Star Wealth Managers in a survey conducted by Baltimore Magazine. The firm serves business owners and individuals with estate planning, asset protection, and trust needs. It also focuses a substantial part of its practice on working with families which have members with developmental disabilities.

Michael C. Hodes, David N. Pessin and Kevin F. Bress, members of Hodes, Pessin & Katz, have been named to the 2011 List of Five Star Wealth Managers in a survey conducted by Baltimore Magazine. Hodes, a wealth preservation and elder law attorney for 35 years, graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law. Pessin focuses on estate planning, gift tax planning, guardianship/conservatorship, Medicaid, and planning for those with disabilities, and advises professional athletes and broadcasters. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Bress also is an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctorate and a master’s in taxation. His practice includes the drafting of wills, administering of estates and advising on wealth preservation and elder law planning.

Caroline D. Ciraolo, a partner at Rosenberg | Martin | Greenberg, of Baltimore, has been selected as a member of Network2000. The organization of community leaders advocates for and monitors women’s progress in becoming leaders. It encourages and supports the appointment of women to corporate boards, and offers a mentoring program for rising leaders of the metropolitan Baltimore business community.

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, which has offices in Greenbelt and Rockville, had eight of its attorneys selected for the 2011 Maryland Super Lawyers list: Andrew Greenwald, Barbara Jorgenson, David Bulitt, Burt Kahn, Walter Laake, Timothy Maloney, Steve Pavsner and Cary Hansel. In addition, Regina Demeo was listed as a Rising Star.

R. Scott Oswald, managing principal of The Employment Law Group law firm, of Washington, D.C., was elected Feb. 14 to serve as the 2011-2012 president of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association. Oswald has litigated and whistleblower retaliation, qui tam, wrongful discharge, discrimination, FMLA, USERRA, non-compete, and wage and overtime actions in federal and state courts. MWELA is the affiliate of the National Employment Lawyers Association for lawyers in Washington and nearby in Maryland and Virginia. As advocates for employee rights and civil rights, MWELA lawyers work to protect the rights and privileges of employees in both the private and public sectors.

Barbara G. Werther and Stephen D. Palley have joined the construction group in the Washington, D.C., office of Ober|Kaler. Werther has 30 years of experience in construction and government contracts law, representing construction industry clients in a range of disputes, both in the private sector and on public projects. Palley specializes in insurance coverage litigation with a construction industry focus, as well as complex construction defect litigation. His practice is limited to representation of policyholders. He also advises clients on the development and negotiation of insurance and risk transfer programs for large construction projects throughout the United States. Werther and Palley previously worked at Howrey LLP. this web site maryland board of physicians

Stephen Immelt, a partner in the Baltimore office of Hogan Lovells and co-head of its litigation, arbitration and employment practice, has been named a “Client Service All-Star” by BTI Consulting Group in its 10th annual client satisfaction survey on corporate counsels. Immelt was nominated by a Fortune 500 pharmaceuticals company. He focuses on complex enforcement litigation relating to health care issues. Immelt represents pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, academic health centers and medical schools, clinical laboratories, and other providers of health care in connection with governmental investigations, both civil and criminal in nature, involving issues arising under federal and state laws that govern health care providers.

Lila G. Shapiro-Cyr, a partner in the real estate department at Ballard Spahr, of Baltimore, has been elected to the board of directors of Harbor City Services, a nonprofit corporation that creates vocational opportunities, treatments and supports for individuals recovering from mental illness and substance abuse. In her practice Shapiro-Cyr represents clients in connection with real estate acquisitions, development, leasing, and financing, with a focus on shopping center and urban development. She is a member of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore’s Business and Economic Development Committee.

Leslie R. Stellman, a member of the education and labor and employment group of Hodes, Pessin & Katz, of Towson, has been voted onto the board of directors of the Council of School Attorneys, which is affiliated with the National School Boards Association. He is the author of three textbooks on education law and has also written briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court on education law issues. Stellman is a professor at the Johns Hopkins University Graduate School of Education and the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Fajer-Smith is named Fellow Debora Fajer-Smith, chair of the workers’ compensation group of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, of Greenbelt and Rockville, has been chosen by the American Bar Association Board of Governors to be a Fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. The native of Brazil has spent 25 years focusing on the disabled and the injured. Fajer-Smith was principal of The Law Offices of Debora Fajer-Smith, which in 2009 merged with Joseph Greenwald & Laake. She previously practiced at Horowitz and Foran. Fajer-Smith is chair of the workers’ compensation section of the Prince George’s County Bar Association, a member of the Maryland Senate-House Joint Oversight Committee for Workers’ Compensation and Insurance Benefits, and a member of the Maryland State Bar Association Judicial Nominating Committee for Prince George’s County.

Debora Fajer-Smith Education: B.S., University of Maryland, Baltimore County; J.D., University of Maryland School of Law.

Resides in: South River Colony, Edgewater, Md.

Daily commute: 25 minutes Most recent vacation: “Venice of the Americas” — Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Hobbies: Pilates, Brazil, and lots of volunteer organizations and boards.

Favorite books: When heading to the beach — anything by Lisa Scottoline or Carl Hiassen.

Most recently read: “A Journey” — Tony Blair’s autobiography.

Favorite food: Crusty French bread, cheese and grapes.

Favorite quotation: “Success — To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.” — attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson