Brooklyn Lawyers

Tracey Ritter Kidwell graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in English from Towson State University in 1996. Following undergrad, she worked as a technical writer. She received her law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2005, passed the Maryland Bar that same year, and has been practicing law in Maryland ever since. Ms. Kidwell primarily represents injured workers before the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission and the Circuit Courts of Maryland. Ms. Kidwell has also been a member of the Maryland Association for Justice since 2005.

Law Clerk, Chief Judge Anselm Sodaro, Supreme Bench of Baltimore City.
Law Clerk/Intern, Judge H. Kemp MacDaniel, Maryland Court of Special Appeals.
Associate and Administrative Aide, Law and Legislative offices of Maryland State Senator Victor L. Crawford.
Legislative Intern, Office of Cong. Gladys Spellman, (D., Md.)
Chair, Federal Practice Section, Montgomery County Bar Assn.
Adjunct Professor, Business Law, Legal Research and Writing, Montgomery College.

Andrea Smith is of Counsel at Silverman Thompson and focuses on criminal matters in the state courts in Maryland.

From 1981 to 1990, Ms. Smith served as an Assistant State's Attorney with the Office of the States's Attorney for Baltimore City, Maryland. In September of 1990, she joined the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland as an Assistant United States Attorney. She was assigned to Narcotics Enforcement. Except for a period between 1998 and 2001, Ms. Smith managed the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program for more than 20 years until she retired from...

David Sanford is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP, a national law firm with offices in the District of Columbia, New York, California, Tennessee, and Maryland. He received his J.D. from Stanford Law School, M.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and B.A. from Vassar College. David has recovered more than one billion dollars for individual clients and the United States government since 2004.

David represents C-suite executives and non-managerial hourly employees throughout the US. He has served as lead counsel in more than 50 class actions and numerous qui tam cases around the country...

Mr. Leitess’ practice has a national scope, serving clients located around the country in litigation and transactional matters arising in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. His practice focuses on the areas of substantive law that businesses rely upon daily.

The majority of Mr. Leitess’ daily professional activity relates to business litigation and arbitration, however a substantial amount of his time is dedicated to transactional matters and “outside general counsel” services for day-to-day operations of clients who do not have an in-house legal department.

Mr. Leitess has 25 years of experience as “first chair” attorney in numerous evidentiary and non-evidentiary hearings,...

Ethan’s litigation practice is focused on complex catastrophic injury, wrongful death and medical malpractice matters.

The breadth of Ethan's experience is extensive, having successfully resolved serious injury and wrongful death cases arising out of, among other circumstances, automobile and tractor trailer collisions, pedestrian deaths, All-Terrain Vehicle accidents, construction accidents, drownings, boating/propeller accidents and house fires.

Ethan regularly obtains million dollar plus settlements and/or verdicts for his clients, and has achieved record-setting results. For example, in 2015 he obtained a $2.8 million jury verdict in Calvert County, Maryland, in a case arising out of the death of a 63 year-old husband and...

Ms. Strachan’s practice focuses on virtually all areas of commercial and residential real estate. Her practice includes representation of landlords, tenants, developers, investors, real estate investment trusts, franchisees, property management companies, and brokers. She handles all matters related to the ownership and operation of real estate projects including management, leasing, dispute resolution, development and construction for all types of residential, retail, office, industrial, hospitality and mixed-used projects. Ms. Strachan makes every effort to handle all matters is the most efficient way possible and is sensitive to time and costs concerns of all her clients.

Ms. Strachan attended college at...

Phil Hanlon is Of Counsel to the Firm where he practices in the areas of corporate transactions, real estate, and general civil litigation.

Patrick S. Preller is the managing partner of the firm with over twenty years of litigation experience in federal and state courts throughout the region. Mr. Preller is recognized as one of the most able trial lawyers in Maryland, and has enjoyed an extraordinary record of success.   In 1998, Mr. Preller graduated with honors from the University of Baltimore School of Law where he served as an associate editor on Law Review. Following graduation, Mr. Preller clerked for the Honorable Maurice W. Baldwin on the Circuit Court of Maryland for Harford County.  He then accepted an appointment as an...

Christopher T. Casciano, an associate attorney with Brown & Barron, is a seasoned litigator and trial attorney who has spent his entire legal career fighting for the most seriously injured victims of medical malpractice, nursing home negligence and abuse, birth trauma, cerebral palsy, wrongful death and other catastrophic personal injuries. Chris has recovered many millions of dollars for his clients and their families, through both settlement and trial verdict. As a result of his reputation, leadership, dedication, and success, the National Trial Lawyers have identified Chris as one of America’s top young trial attorneys, having named him to their...

Mr. Zuber focuses his practice on medical malpractice, serious personal injury, and wrongful death cases all throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia. He has a great fascination with medicine and enjoys researching and writing about complex medical malpractice issues.

A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Zuber performed his undergraduate studies at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Dickinson in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. From there, Mr. Zuber attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware where he graduated with honors.

Prior to joining Miller and Zois, Mr. Zuber honed his litigation skills while working for...

Kerri Smith concentrates her practice on commercial and residential real estate. She represents landlords, tenants, business owners, property management companies, commercial property owners and contractors in all aspects of development, construction, leasing and management. Her practice includes all types of commercial, residential, retail, office, industrial and mixed used developments. Ms. Smith also covers civil matters in Federal and State courts and has extensive experience in representing clients in a broad range of other matters including commercial leases, class actions, contract disputes and collection actions. She advocates in court on a daily basis.

Justin Katz is a Member in the Personal Injury Practice Group. He is admitted to practice in Maryland, Washington D.C., and Virginia. Justin has spent his entire career handling a wide array of complex personal injury matters, including motor vehicle collisions and automobile negligence claims, bus and trucking accidents, uninsured/underinsured motorist claims, swimming pool and drowning accidents, wrongful death, traumatic brain injuries, animal attacks and dog bites, workers’ compensation claims and first-and third-party bad faith claims. In 2011 Justin was named a “Rising Star” by Maryland Super Lawyers and continued to recieve this recognition in every year that has since followed....

Matthew A.S. Esworthy is a partner in the Firmâs litigation department. He concentrates on general civil and criminal litigation, including white collar criminal defense, complex commercial litigation, securities litigation, partnership disputes, employment law, and appeals. In recognition of his accomplishments, Martindale-Hubbell awarded Mr. Esworthy its AV Peer-Review Rating, the highest rating available. Mr. Esworthy has achieved favorable results in a number of high profile cases. In recent years, he has successfully defended a Baltimore law firm in a multi-million dollar defamation/invasion of privacy lawsuit brought by a public official; successfully represented minority shareholders of a Fortune 500 company in a complex...

Leah K. Barron, a founding partner of Brown & Barron, LLC, has dedicated her legal career to protecting plaintiffs who have been harmed by corporate malfeasance. Leah currently focuses her practice on representing families who have lost a loved one due to abuse or neglect at a nursing home. She prides herself on having developed a thriving nursing home abuse practice at Brown & Barron, and she is focused on providing all the firm’s clients with top-notch legal representation, combined with an exceptional client experience.

Prior to co-founding Brown & Barron, Leah maintained a national practice and served as Team Leader...

As a partner at Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, Will specializes in civil litigation, criminal litigation, and intellectual property cases. In addition to his experience as an attorney, he has extensive experience in the corporate realm of software and life sciences. Contact him today to set up a free consultation to discuss the specifics of your case.

Mr. Zois is a founding partner of Miller & Zois and one of the most accomplished trial attorneys in Maryland. Her practice focuses on representing victims as lead attorney in catastrophic injury and death cases against negligent corporations and healthcare providers. Before establishing her own firm, Ms. Zois was a defense attorney for major insurance companies including State Farm and Allstate. Ms. Zois has tried over 300 tort cases and has a track record in high-stakes malpractice and personal injury claims. She has won numerous multi-million-dollar cases including a $10,000,000 verdict in a complex medical malpractice case and an $8,000,000 verdict...

Mr. Roche founded Ballenger & Roche, LLC in 2019 with a mission to help seriously injured clients achieve exceptional results. Mr. Roche represents plaintiffs across the State of Maryland in trial courts, the appellate courts and in federal district court. Mr. Roche has received numerous awards and have earned the trust and respect of their peers through representing countless individuals in automobile accidents, medical malpractice, slip and falls, and from defective products. Mr. Roche has recovered millions for his clients and has received legal honors, including but not limited to the prestigious Super Lawyers “Rising Star” designation for 2017-2019 and 2021-2024....

AREAS OF CONCENTRATION INCLUDE

• Maryland Divorce and Separation law
• Pre and Postnuptial Agreements
• Separation and Property Settlement Agreements
• Paternity
• Property Division, the Division of Marital Assets, Maintenance and Support
• Alimony – Pendente Lite, Rehabilitative and Indefinite
• Custody and Visitation
• Maryland and Interstate Child Support
• Military Divorces involving Maryland residents
• Ex Parte Protective Order Hearings (temporary and final)
• Interstate Custody Disputes
• Relocation Child Custody Cases
• Maryland Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act
• Appeals to the Court of Special Appeals and Court of Appeals
• Best Interest Attorney appointments in Baltimore County, Howard County and Talbot County

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...

Jenna Forman Clothier worked as a law clerk for The Law Office of Alan S. Forman, LLC while attending law school in the evening at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Upon admission to the Bar in Maryland in December 2014, Jenna continued to work at The Law Office of Alan S. Forman as an Associate. Jenna was admitted to the Maryland Bar in December 2014. Her practice includes family law, adoption, and immigration. In 2005, Jenna graduated from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science. She continued...

I began practicing law in 1996. Since then, I have helped many clients in Maryland and the District of Columbia with their family law issues, including high-conflict divorces, custody cases involving special needs children, and premarital and postmarital agreements. I am an experienced litigator, but is also a trained Collaborative practitioner and trained mediator.

For the last twelve years I have also represented numerous students and families in education matters, including school discipline in public and private schools, and campus sexual assault, Title IX cases and academic misconduct cases at the college level.

Nikoletta Mendrinos is an associate at Murphy, Falcon & Murphy who handles both civil and criminal matters. Contact her today to get an expert opinion on your case.

As an associate at Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, Jessica helps victims of negligent accidents in Baltimore get the recovery they deserve. Contact Murphy, Falcon & Murphy today for more information or to set up a free consultation.

Dawn Merino has been providing legal services and mediation to the people of Glen Burnie, Maryland, and the surrounding areas for over twenty years. Specializing in family law, Dawn’s clients remain grateful for her assistance during the most difficult phase of their lives. We offer legal services and mediation for matters including divorce, separation, child custody, and domestic violence.

Ms. Chappell’s practice focuses on civil litigation with an emphasis on complex business, medical malpractice and catastrophic personal injury cases. A significant part of Ms. Chappell’s practice is devoted to sophisticated motions and appeals.