Columbia Lawyers

One of Maryland’s “Super Lawyers,” Paul Tolzman received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Loyola University Maryland and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law. He was admitted to practice before Maryland Courts in 1977. Mr. Tolzman is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the Maryland Association for Justice, and the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association. He has also been recognized as one of the country’s “Top 100 Trial Lawyers”, a “Top Lawyer in Maryland”, and in 2015,...

Greg Hopper is an experienced trial attorney who focuses on catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases.

Greg grew up in a small town in Missouri. His first experiences working were in construction and on farms where he met people from a lot of different backgrounds. He saw a worker injured using a poorly designed and manufactured power tool. He sat beside a friend college who was almost paralyzed when a seat failed during a car crash. And a family member died as a result of horrible medical care. In this process, Greg saw firsthand how corporations and doctors used...

Maria has worked for over 15 years in helping businesses manage the challenge that immigration compliance presents to human resources management and helping individuals navigate the complex and lengthy immigration process. Maria considers her proactive approach to client matters to be her distinctive trademark. Maria handles - Work permits and visas for executives, professionals, and their family members i.e. H1B, L1, J1, Labor Certification - U.S. employment-based, business, trainee, and investor nonimmigrant visas and immigrant employment-based residency cases - Complex U.S. Citizenship

Flora Lee always strives toward what she believes to be the right or best path, not the path of least resistance. Her drive to be better and do more, combined with her keen analytical ability, allows her to visualize and work to implement her clients’ goals. Flora was drawn to the legal profession by its unique combination of intellectual challenges, real-life stakes, and interpersonal collaboration. She works to understand her clients’ concerns even beyond the immediate case at hand, and to bring solutions that fit within their bigger picture. Prior to joining Stein Sperling, Flora clerked for the Honorable Irma S. Raker...

I am the managing attorney at Actio Law, and am licensed to practice law in Maryland, and pending admission to the District of Columbia Bar. Throughout my career, I have focused on protecting the rights of consumers and ordinary people. Whether through the practice of immigration and consumer debt law, or helping to keep corporate financial giants in compliance with consumer protection regulations, my primary concern has always been protecting the rights of the individuals who need it most. I understand that as times are changing, so too are the needs of clients. You...

Attorney Howard B. Hoffman is experienced in employment and employment immigration matters. On numerous occasions, he has served as a featured speaker at numerous legal seminars. He is an accomplished legal author, and an honors law graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law. Prior to opening his own legal practice in 2002, Mr. Hoffman worked for a prominent employment law boutique catering exclusively to management clientele.

Mr. Malek is a lifelong native of the Washington, D.C. area and a former two-sport college athlete with a fiercely competitive, yet jovial nature who is familiar with how to adequately prepare and perform when necessary. The lessons learned as a life-long athlete on and off the field have translated in to the courtroom and are expressed in the furtherance of his clients’ interests. Before founding Malek Legal, Mr. Malek worked at a firearms and explosives regulatory law firm in Washington, D.C. where he represented both individuals and business entities associated with the law enforcement, military/defense and civilian shooting sports industries....

Compassionate. Zealous. Aggressive Attorney focussed on criminal defense, Immigration and Family Law. Proven Results. Voted Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyers in Maryland by the National Trial Lawyers. Licensed in both Maryland and Florida.

Elizabeth Anu Lawrence, Esq. is the Managing Attorney of the Law Office of Elizabeth Anu Lawrence, LLC. located in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned her Juris Doctor and LL.M at the University of Baltimore School of Law where she served as a Staff Editor for the Intellectual Property Journal. She also earned a LL.B from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

She is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA), National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The National Black Lawyers-Top 40 Under 40, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Baltimore City Bar Association, Maryland State Bar Association and District of Columbia Bar Association.

She...

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Gary Gerstenfield is a well-known and respected criminal defense attorney who is highly soughtafter for his effective trial skills and advocacy. He obtained his Juris Doctor in 1990 from the Catholic University of America, where he served as senior staff member of the prestigious Journal of Contemporary Health Law & Policy. Upon entering the bar, Mr. Gerstenfield returned to school in Boston where he obtained a certificate in DUI defense from the nationally known College of DUI Defense presented at Harvard Law School.

Iris practices bankruptcy and civil litigation as it relates to bankruptcy (foreclosure, eviction, FCRA and FDCPA claims).

Michael G. Wolff is a seasoned veteran with more than 30 years of experience practicing bankruptcy law. He is a respected bankruptcy attorney responsible for handling complex cases. He has served as a Bankruptcy Trustee for over 20 years in Maryland. He also enjoys a superior reputation among his clients and peers. His bankruptcy practice has been featured in several national publications. He is rated AV – the highest awarded for legal ability and ethics – by Martindale-Hubbell legal directory.

Robert J. Weltchek will soon be entering his fourth decade of practice as one of the most esteemed and respected trial attorneys in the country. Mr Weltchek is a creative and tenacious advocate for his client’s interests, evidenced by his impeccable record of recovering landmark verdicts. His success has not gone unnoticed. Best Lawyers in America has recognized Weltchek as one of the top personal injury lawyers in the country.

For more than 40 years, Art House has been working with businesses of all types as a corporate lawyer and litigator. He chairs the firm’s Science & Technology and Alternative Dispute Resolution practice groups, and is a member of the Corporate practice group. Art brings responsiveness and an ability to offer practical solutions to his clients, understanding that his clients’ business needs drive the deals, not the lawyer.
Art’s background in enterprise development, licensing for technology-based companies and assisting both established and start-up businesses in developing legal, business alliance and acquisition strategies gives him unique insight into the real-world problems facing...

Eli represents owners, general contractors, subcontractors and materialmen with construction issues including acceleration, resequencing, mechanics’ liens, bonding, bankruptcy and commercial matters. Demonstrated project experience and representation encompasses public, commercial and private entities. Admitted to practice in the State of Maryland, District of Columbia, as well as before the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Kevin is a Principal in the firm and considers himself as a true business attorney. From start-up through transition, Kevin serves as outside counsel for a myriad of local businesses of varying size and industry. He is a member of the firm’s Corporate, Nonprofits, Science & Technology, and Real Estate practice groups, and regularly provides counsel in each of these areas, including general operation and governance of for-profit and nonprofit entities, business dispute resolutions, IP and technology licensing and transactions, private placements, the negotiation of employment relationships and separations, executive compensation, structuring and implementing corporate mergers and acquisitions, the negotiation...

Sabrina R. Thompson is a passionate litigator, motivated by her desire to advocate incessantly for her clients. She is an experienced trial attorney with years of success in trial work. Sabrina established her law firm in 2012. Prior to that (since 2007), she served the State of Maryland as an Assistant Public Defender. She has spent more than a decade litigating and advocating on behalf of individuals facing legal injustices in the areas of immigration and criminal law. Her most recent focus has been serving immigrants in the community by helping them achieve the American dream through naturalization...

Debbie Cohn’s keys to professional success are as diverse as her eclectic client base that consists of professionals, business owners, retirees, and non-U.S. citizens. Yet perhaps her most critical—and comforting—characteristic is an ability to explain complex concepts in a way her clients can understand. Debbie’s approach to estate planning is equal parts pragmatic and creative, which helps put her clients at ease with the knowledge that their families will be cared for and protected, and their asset protection and wealth management goals will be met. And her wealth of experience and vast knowledge of the law allow her to blend...

Mark Goldstein, one of the founders of the firm, is a member of its Corporate, Financial Services, Estate Planning and Estate & Trust Administration practice groups. He concentrates on corporate, business, estate and tax planning and advises large and small corporations, general and limited partnerships, associations and proprietorships on sophisticated business planning issues. He represents a large number of estate planning clients and is well respected for his ability to communicate and implement complicated plans in a practical manner. Mark has significant experience in structuring and negotiating business and financing transactions, reorganizations and private placement syndications. He has served as...

Immigration Lawyer, Lynn Garfinkel, Esq., has been helping clients prevent and solve problems for eight years. She recently launched Garfinkel Immigration Law, LLC to better serve client needs.Lynn Garfinkel represents clients seeking green cards, temporary and permanent visas, family and work petitions, deportation defense, naturalization, and religious, political, and gender based asylum, and benefits under the Violence Against Women Act. Ms. Garfinkel has experience with a variety of employment based petitions, including intracompany transferees, specialty occupations, professionals, researchers, and more.Finally, Ms. Garfinkel successfully represents clients at consulates around the world. Ms. Garfinkel is currently Chair of the Asylum...

Jim Hammerschmidt is Co-President of the firm, Co-Chair of the Employment Law group, and a member of its Litigation and Appellate Practice groups. His practice includes a range of commercial, corporate, and employment counseling and litigation, but his primary task is listening. The first thing Jim does when meeting with a client is ask, “What is your goal?” In doing this, Jim is able to determine the client’s expectations and whether we will be able to meet them. Only then can he really set about meeting his clients’ business needs.
Jim has extensive experience representing and counseling clients on employment law...

Cristen Rose’s practice encompasses a wide variety of commercial & business litigation, with significant experience in mass torts, class actions, product liability defense, environmental litigation, contractual disputes and regulatory compliance. As a member of the firm’s Regulatory Law & Litigation practice group, she devotes a significant portion of her practice to the regulation of pesticides and other chemical products under the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Cristen also has extensive experience representing companies that are subjects of investigations by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the...

Victor Rosenberg, a founding member of the firm, is also a member of its Corporate, Tax, Estate Planning, and Estate & Trust Administration practice groups. He concentrates his practice on corporate, real estate, business, estate planning, probate and tax matters and is also involved in family wealth preservation and business continuity through the establishment of charitable trusts of all types, private foundations, family partnerships and limited liability companies.
Victor is active in trust reformation as well as the financing and sale of beneficial interests in trusts. He has extensive experience in structuring and negotiating business and financing transactions, including the sale...

Linda Schwartz is a senior member of the Professional Ethics & Discipline, Estate Planning, Estate & Trust Administration, Corporate, and Real Estate practice groups. She has considerable experience in complex real estate and commercial transactions, business planning, executive succession planning, and estate planning and administration for both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens. For more than 30 years, she has served as counsel to prominent national, regional and local developers and business owners. In 2006, she was elected to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.
Throughout her legal career, Linda has been active in public service. She is a former Assistant Attorney...

Mr. Richa's clients include recording artists, songwriters, music producers, music production companies, music publishers, record labels, television and film producers, television and video production companies, entertainment management companies, apparel companies, filmmakers, professional photographers, promotion companies, restaurants, mortgage companies, real estate companies, graphic design companies, automobile service centers, importers/exporters, interior decorating companies, insurance companies, consulting companies, medical industry companies, technology companies, software companies, image consulting companies, property nanagement companies, retail stores, business management companies, actors, directors, screenwriters, marketing companies, public relations firms, personal and business managers, commercial and music video production companies, DJ's, recording studios, dancers and choreographers along with various...

Michael Fried has spent over 25 years practicing law, and more specifically tax related law. As the principal founder of Fried Law Firm and now 1 of 2 partners at Fried & Rosefelt, LLC, Michael S. Fried actively helps clients by handling bankruptcies, business purchases, federal and state tax problems, partnership and shareholder relationships.