Leonardtown Lawyers

I am an experienced Maryland and District of Columbia Attorney. My practice areas include Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, Immigration, Personal Injury, Car Accidents, and Debtor/Creditor Law. I take great pride in providing personalized and effective representation. I am dedicated to meeting the legal needs and goals of my clients.

In 1995, I received my B.S. in Marine & Environmental Science from Hampton University. I earned my J.D. from Howard University School of Law in 1998. I am admitted to practice in Maryland, District of Columbia, the U.S. District Court District of Maryland, and the U.S. District Court District of Columbia.

My practice includes employment law, business law, and open records laws.
As former federal attorney in addition to two decades of running my own practice, I bring expert experience to my matters. Each legal matter presents its own unique facts and gets my specific attention. Identifying the legal issues is of paramount importance. My focus is to analyze the legal issues and provide my clients with candid, detailed and well considered advice and representation. My clients and I have direct communication throughout their representation. It is important that my clients understand what...

Why me? Experience and intensity; honed through years of representing clients at trial and on appeal in state and federal courts. Pragmatic, results-oriented representation as an advocate and as legal counsel. Straight answers. Vigorous advocacy. I'll get you through the wilderness.

Diana Klein also owns a title company, Lawyers' Title & Escrow Services and has her real estate brokers license and operates a brokerage firm helping buyer and sellers with residential, commercial, luxury, standard or short sales at Lawyers' Realty, LLC.

Mandeep S. Chhabra is the managing member of Cochran and Chhabra, LLC. He practices criminal defense and plaintiff’s personal injury law in the state of Maryland. Mr. Chhabra’s interest in law dates to his freshman year in high school. He decided then that practicing as a civil litigator and criminal defense attorney would be his future. He believes growing up as a minority in Maryland and his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology allow him to better understand many of the underlying issues his clients endure. The sincere empathy Mr. Chhabra feels for his clients fosters a strong attorney-client...

David Mabrey spent 20 years as a Baltimore City Prosecutor and brings the most experience you need to get the best results. He has handled hundreds of personal injury cases with excellent results, and has successfully caused the dismissal of numerous DWI cases in the last two years David has handled (with excellent results): Thousands of Drunk Driving (DUI/DWI) Cases Thousands of Drug Cases from Simple Possession to Drug Sales Hundreds of Domestic Cases Hundreds of Theft Cases Dozens of Jury Trials

Mr. Dales is a Cornell University graduate who received his law degrees from the University of Maryland and the University of Miami. He is a solo practitioner located in Annapolis, Maryland.

The firm offers hands-on direct lawyer to client personal service and access. We have been to all of local county courts and have helped clients with a wide variety of problems from personal injuries arising as a result of a defective product, vehicular or boating collision, fall, bite, or health care error as examples, to real estate issues over property lines, title defects, easements, transferable development options, to divorce...

Jessica Summers is an Associate in the firm’s Employee Benefits, Employment Law, Retirement Plans, Litigation and Government Relations practice groups. Jessica works with companies and organizations on a wide range of matters, including establishing and implementing effective employment policies, drafting employment agreements, maintaining employee benefit plans, addressing corporate planning issues and monitoring and advising clients on legislative and regulatory developments of import to them.
As an all-purpose business attorney with experience across several practice areas, Jessica has a comprehensive understanding of the legal and business needs of her clients and uses a common sense approach to finding solutions. In looking out...

Dirk Schwenk is a Maryland real estate attorney focusing on waterfront issues including riparian rights, piers, variances and permits, boundary disputes as well as maritime and marine contracting issues. He also assists with boat purchase, sale and tax issues. He is an honors graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law and has been in private practice in Annapolis since 2000.

For 35 years, Robert has specialized in insurance recovery on behalf of policyholders. As Chair of the Insurance Recovery group and a member of the firm’s Litigation practice, Robert litigates complex disputes against insurance companies on behalf of corporations seeking coverage for all manner of claims involving every form of risk and exposure such as those arising out of products, securities, directors & officers, energy, automotive, financial institutions, medical devices and health, among others.
Robert has successfully argued precedent-setting appeals in the second, third, and fourth U.S. Courts of Appeals, as well as the California Court of Appeal, San Francisco...

Jack Blum is an associate in the firm’s Litigation and Employment Law practice groups. He has gained significant experience in a wide range of litigation matters, including real estate, commercial, corporate, and complex estates and trusts cases in both trials and appeals. He has represented large publicly and privately traded companies, individuals, real estate developers, medical practices, and small businesses. He has also worked with business owners on transactional work, forming business entities and drafting and reviewing contracts and other legal issues arising from ongoing and contemplated business transactions. In the area of employment law, Jack has worked with employers...

Benjamin Matthew Kurtz has been practicing in Maryland since 2016. During that time, he has successfully represented individuals and entities in a variety of cases, focusing most of his time on personal injury and criminal defense.

Personal Injury

Benjamin Kurtz successfully represents individuals who have been seriously injured. With compassion and confidence, he deftly navigates his clients through the legal maze to an outcome designed to mitigate their pain and suffering and maximize recoveries for clients in need. The fact that many of Benjamin's clients are referred to him by his former clients and other attorneys is a resounding testament...

David Shapiro is the Chair of Paley Rothman's Health Law practice group, and a member of the firm's Corporate, Science & Technology, Employment Law and Government Contracts practice groups. David has an extensive background representing business entities, healthcare providers, surgical centers, professional service vendors and entrepreneurs in a broad range of general business, commercial, regulatory and complex transactional matters, including early-stage business planning, business management and operations, equity and asset transfers, inter- and intra-business contract relationships, mergers and acquisitions and collaborative and adversarial business owner and proxy dispute resolutions.
David’s business practice focuses on full life-cycle representation for emerging and established...

Erin Michael McCormack provides a wide range of legal services to clients throughout the Eastern Shore of Maryland with his case load centered in Worcester, Wicomico, Dorchester and Somerset Counties. As a former Assistant State's Attorney and Law Clerk in Worcester County, Mr. McCormack possesses a unique insight into the judicial process facing individuals that find themselves before the Court. Since entering private practice, Mr. McCormack has primarily devoted his time to the areas of criminal defense, traffic matters (DUI/DWI) and civil litigation (business & contract disputes, professional negligence, etc.). Despite those concentrations, he also handles a...

Rick Claxton, a member of the firm’s Litigation, Appellate and ADR practice groups, has over 30 years of courtroom experience representing clients ranging from individuals to Fortune 50 corporations. A veteran of dozens of jury and bench trials, Rick focuses his practice on complex business cases, such as corporate and partnership disputes, construction litigation, business torts, and employment litigation. However, Rick has always maintained a diverse practice, including cases ranging from copyright and trademark litigation to representation of individuals with major personal injury claims.
In addition to his trial work, Rick has substantial appellate court experience, having briefed and argued cases...

Advocate and adviser for government employees, business professionals, and businesses in a wide range of employment and civil litigation matters.

Civil Litigation:
- Represent individuals and businesses in various civil-litigation matters, including business litigation, contract disputes, partnership disputes, and insurance coverage.
- Represent licensed professionals in investigations, disciplinary proceedings, and appeals of adverse agency decisions regarding licensure.
- Experienced trial lawyer in state and federal court.
- Experienced appellate attorney in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, D.C. Court of Appeals, Maryland Court of Appeals, and Maryland Court of Special Appeals.
- Law clerk...

Paula Calimafde chairs the firm’s Retirement Plans, Employee Benefits and Government Relations practice groups and is also a senior member of the Estate Planning, Tax and Nonprofit groups. She has more than 35 years of experience advising companies and tax-exempt organizations on qualified and non-qualified retirement plans and employee benefits, including non-qualified deferred compensation, welfare benefit and cafeteria plans. She is a nationally recognized leader in the field of creative retirement plan designs for businesses and works closely with management and owners to prepare retirement plans, which suit the particular corporate needs.
Paula’s practice encompasses sophisticated estate planning and advising individuals...

Jeffrey Kolender chairs the firm’s Estate Planning and Estate & Trust Administration practice groups. He concentrates primarily in those areas and also advises small businesses in tax business planning. Jeffrey recognizes that each client is different and enjoys the challenge of creating a plan that accomplishes the client’s unique goals. He advises clients about adequately providing for their family, including saving taxes, creating trusts for children, planning for disability, and the special planning issues involved in second marriages and same-sex marriages.
He understands that estate planning can be a complex and emotional process for clients. Jeffrey always takes the time to...

Glenn Cooper is the Chair of the firm’s Litigation practice and senior partner in our Family Law practice. He frequently appears before federal and state courts at both the trial and appellate levels, and before arbitration panels and professional disciplinary boards. No matter whether he is litigating a matter of a business or domestic nature, Glenn aggressively defends his clients’ positions and pursues their desired outcomes. The majority of Glenn Cooper's practice is devoted to complex business, financial, commercial and domestic litigation involving significant business issues.
A number of Glenn's cases have helped shape the current state of the law in...

Roy Niedermayer is a member of the firm’s Litigation, Appellate Practice and Government Contracts practice areas. He excels in risk management - he identifies and assesses risk in each of his cases and then discusses alternative strategies in light of probabilities of outcomes to determine what the best cost-benefit course of action is. He may create decision tree analyses, determining what factors affect risk, how to reduce risk, and assigns probability of success. When first meeting with a client, Roy finds out what the client is hoping to achieve and what their goals are - in doing this he understands...

Alan Mark is a Co-Chair of the firm’s Real Estate and Chair of the Financial Services practice groups. He is also a senior member of the Corporate group. For more than 40 years, Alan has concentrated on corporate, commercial and real estate finance matters. He has served as outside counsel to numerous local, regional and national financial institutions, publicly traded biotechnology companies and hotel owners and operators. He has also served as outside counsel to information and telecommunication technology clients, government entities and individuals in connection with technology transfers, business acquisitions, project development and equity and debt financings. Since 1996,...

Paul Marcotte, Jr. Chairs the firm’s Tax practice group and is a member of its Estate Planning, Estate & Trust Administration and Nonprofit groups. He concentrates his practice on federal, state and international tax matters (both planning and controversy), estate and wealth preservation planning, probate and trust administration, nonprofit organizations, and business counseling and succession planning. Paul helps his clients by putting complicated tax issues into simple English. He makes sure that the individuals, businesses and international clients he services have help navigating our complex tax systems and avoid potential minefields such as increased levels taxation and/or penalties.
Paul’s international...

For more than 30 years Dan Hodin has advised businesses and individuals in commercial and residential real estate and loan transactions, including acquiring, financing, developing, owning, leasing, managing and selling real estate. Co-chair of the firm’s Real Estate practice, he has represented local, national and international real estate developers, builders, owners, and office and retail tenants in conjunction with prominent real estate projects including hotels, office buildings, condominiums, apartment complexes and shopping centers located throughout the United States.
Dan knows that responsiveness and organization in the fast-paced world of real estate are key to keeping clients satisfied. He instills confidence in...

Wayne Eig refers to himself as a business and tax lawyer for individuals and closely held entities, providing advice to clients involved in various business, investment, financial and succession planning activities. Sometimes, his clients are individuals or families, sometimes entities and often a combination of individuals/families and affiliated entities working together. Sometimes, these businesses have great value, sometimes they do not – but all of these clients have needs which require legal attention.
Over the course of his career, Wayne has chaired some of the firm’s major practice groups – Estate & Trust Administration, Estate Planning, Tax, and Corporate. In forty...

Hope is Co-Chair of the firm’s Employment Law practice. For more than 30 years she has represented a variety of businesses, trade associations, and non-profit organizations in all areas of employment law, including age, gender, race, and disability discrimination; sexual and other harassment; wage and hour matters; and non- competition disputes.
Hope thoroughly familiarizes herself with her clients’ businesses, their goals and needs, and then works with them to craft solutions to meet those needs. She works with companies to develop regulatory-sensitive employment policies for recruitment, selection, promotion, discipline, and termination of employees, and evaluates and advises clients with regard to...

Ingerman & Horwitz, LLP is a full-service, Maryland personal injury law firm with over 100 years of collective experience. As a Better Business Bureau A+ rated, accredited firm and also named as one of Maryland’s leading workers’ compensation firms by The Baltimore Sun, Ingerman & Horwitz, LLP is recognized for their commitment to justice and dedication to excellence.

An attorney licensed in Maryland and DC, Ms. Ontaneda-Bernales has also been admitted to the United States Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. She has founded the Law Offices of Sylvia Ontaneda-Bernales (Maryland), Ontaneda-Bernales Law (Nevada), and Ontaneda-Bernales LLC (New Mexico). Her Immigration practice includes Relative Petitions, Fiance Visas, Naturalizations, Green Card Applications, Business and Investor Visas, and DACA, among other Immigration-related services. As a mediator, she has worked for the District Court of Maryland ADR Program. She is also a Spanish language consultant, translator, and interpreter listed in the Maryland Court Interpreter...

I have a background in the computer and electronics industry, and for the past 25 years, I have also supported clients in diverse industries including aerospace, medical device, and telecommunications. Additionally, I have protected a wide range of products and inventions for various individuals. My work primarily involves client counseling and the development of patent portfolios. Previously, I worked as a computer engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory within an embedded computer systems group. There, I developed solutions that integrated hardware and software components, focusing on image processing, network communications, and circuit design technologies. I have also authored...