Faculty
Judge Michael J. Algeo
Judge Michael Algeo is currently a Judge on the Circuit Court for Montgomery County having been appointed in November, 2005. He previously served as a Judge on the District Court of Maryland from 1999-2005. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was a Senior Assistant States Attorney with the State's Attorneys office in Montgomery County and was the Supervisor of the Felony Trial unit. He also worked in private practice as counsel for Jordan, Coyne & Savits in Washington D.C., specializing in police liability, medical malpractice, and asbestos litigation. He is a Vietnam Veteran having served in the U.S. Air Force.
Judge Algeo has taught Trial Advocacy at the National College of District Attorneys at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. He has also taught classes at the University of Maryland, and has lectured for the Maryland State Bar Association as well as the Montgomery County Bar Association. He is a 1983 graduate of the Washington College of Law and has received the Washington College of Law Distinguished Alumnus award, the Montgomery College paralegal service award, the "Holding the Line on Underage Drinking", Community Service Award, and was recognized in 2005 by the Maryland Daily Record as that year's recipient of the prestigious Leadership in Law Award.
Roy Austin, Esq.
Roy L. Austin Jr. is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP based in the Firm's Washington, D.C. office. He is a member of the Trial Department.
Before joining McDermott, Roy held several positions with the United States Department of Justice. As a Senior Assistant United States Attorney in the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, he investigated and prosecuted federal program theft, money laundering, health care fraud, identity theft, mail and wire fraud, tax offenses and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. As a Senior Assistant United States Attorney in the Sex Offense Section of the D.C. USAO, he investigated and prosecuted homicide, sexual assault and child prostitution cases. Earlier, as a senior trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section, he investigated and prosecuted violations of federal criminal civil rights statutes in federal courts across the United States. Roy has conducted thirty jury trials and has received numerous Special Achievement Awards. He joined the Justice Department after serving as an Honors Program Summer Law Clerk.
Roy also spent two years in private practice as an associate at the law firm of Keker & Van Nest, LLP in San Francisco, where he worked on a variety of complex civil and white-collar criminal cases.
During law school, Roy was president of the Black Law Students Association. He was vice chair of the Hinton Moot Court and recipient of the Finalist's Prize in the Hinton Moot Court Competition. As a board member of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, he argued a death penalty appeal. He was also an Earl Warren Scholar.
Roy is also an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School, where he teaches trial advocacy. He is also a faculty member with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy's (NITA) intensive and advanced trial skills courses. He has been a panelist or presenter at numerous events sponsored by the DOJ , National Institute of Corrections, Criminal Practice Institute and other organizations.
Roy is a member of the bars of the states of Illinois and California.
Mark Austrian, Esq.
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Mark Austrian is a member of Collier Shannon Scott, PLLC, where he focuses his practice in the areas of toxic torts and product liability as well as commercial litigation and courtroom technology.
Mr. Austrian is a member of the American Law Institute and the Defense Research Institute. Mr. Austrian is a Master of the William B. Bryant Inn of Court and on the Board of Directors of the Council for Court Excellence, where he serves on the D.C. Jury Project Study Committee. Mr. Austrian graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Finance.
Judge DeLawrence Beard
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Judge DeLawrence Beard is currently the Chief Judge of the Montgomery County Circuit Court, a position he has held since 1996. Prior to his appointment as Chief Judge, Judge Beard was an Associate Judge on the Montgomery County Circuit Court from 1984 to 1996. Judge Beard has also served as a District Court Judge for Montgomery County, a Public Defender for Montgomery County, and Senior Assistant State's Attorney in Montgomery County.
A Co-founder of the J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association, Judge Beard is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, American Judicature Society, and Phi Beta Gamma Legal Fraternity. His awards include Governor's Citation, 1998; Meritorious Achievement Award, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Iota Upsilon Lambda Chapter, 1989; Charles Sumner High School Hall of Fame Award, 1985; Montgomery County NAACP Community Service Award, 1984; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity - Mu Nu Chapter Outstanding Citizen of the Year, 1982; J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association Award, 1993; J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association Legal Excellence Award, 2003; and History Makers, April 2003.
Michael P. Bruckheim, Esq.
Michael Bruckheim serves as the Chief of the Criminal Section of the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (OAG) where he supervises over 20 attorneys in the prosecution of 10,000-15,000 cases per year.
Prior to his appointment as Chief, Mr. Bruckheim practiced for almost 10 years in the OAG in both criminal and civil litigation. Mr. Bruckheim spent the majority of his career in the OAG's Civil Division where he defended the District of Columbia in local and federal courts against a variety of claims, including police misconduct, constitutional violations arising under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983, employment discrimination, failure to accommodate disabilities, and personal injury.
Since September, 2007, Mr. Bruckheim has served as an Adjunct Faculty Coach for the Washington College of Law's Mock Trial Honor Society.
Mr. Bruckheim received his B.A. cum laude from Brandeis University in 1993 and his juris doctorate from the Washington College of Law at American University in 1996. He is admitted to the Bars of the District of Columbia and Maryland.
Judge William M. Cave
Judge William M. Cave is a retired Chief Judge and Circuit Administrative Judge for the Sixth Circuit Court of Maryland, having been appointed in 1995. He previously served, from 1978 to 1993, as a Judge for the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. Judge Cave served as Judge of the District Court of Montgomery County, Maryland from 1971 to 1978. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was a Deputy States' Attorney in Montgomery County. Judge Cave also worked in private practice as a named partner for Allen, Spaulding & Cave.
Judge Cave has taught Trial Advocacy at the American University, Washington College of Law since 1989. He is a designated call back Judge for all Maryland District Courts and for Montgomery, Frederick, Carroll, and Prince Georges Circuit Courts. Judge Cave is a designated call back Judge for Mediations in Prince Georges County Civil cases. He also conducts private mediations and arbitrations.
Audrey Anne Creighton, Esq.
Audrey Anne Creighton is an Assistant Public Defender in the Montgomery County Maryland Office of The Public Defender. Ms.Creighton is one of two Hispanic bilingual attorneys in the office who handle serious felony cases. As such, Ms. Creighton has extensive trial experience, including having tried more than eighty jury trials. During her seventeen years as an Assistant Public Defender, she has tried virtually every kind of criminal case, including several murder cases.
Ms. Creighton served as the eleventh President of the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association (MHBA) from 2003-2004, and continues to serve the MHBA as a board member. She is the liaison to the Montgomery County Bar Association, and a member of various committees for the MHBA. Additionally, Ms. Creighton serves as Secretary of the Montgomery County Bar Association, Chairs the Specialty Bar Associations Committee, and mentors two young lawyers. Ms. Creighton is also active in the Montgomery County Chapter of the State of Maryland Women's Bar Association, and mentors a high school student. During the school year, Ms. Creighton sits as a judge for the Maryland State Bar Association Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition.
Judge Charles B. Day
The Honorable Charles B. Day was appointed a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Maryland, on February 18, 1997. He principally serves at the Southern Division Courthouse, located in Greenbelt, Maryland. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Day was a prosecutor in the Montgomery County State's Attorney's office, and later practiced law with the Washington, D.C. firm of Sherman, Meehan, Curtin, & Ain, P.C. He was also a frequent legal commentator for CNN and other national television and cable broadcasters. Judge Day is an active member of various professional organizations and has served on the board of directors of a number of civic, charitable and Christian organizations. Judge Day received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland in 1978, his Master of Science degree from The American University in 1980, and his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Maryland in 1984.
Bruce A. Fredrickson, Esq.
A professor of Trial Practice since 1986, Bruce A. Fredrickson is a founding partner of Webster, Fredrickson & Brackshaw, where he directs the civil litigation practice focused on the representation of employees in discrimination cases and related matters. Mr. Fredrickson led the fight for the largest employment discrimination award in the history of the Civil Rights Act in Hartman v. Powell. Mr. Fredrickson reached the record $508 million settlement after individual class members had won forty-six of forty-eight trials, yielding awards of $25 million paid over and above the settlement.
A 1973 summa cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College, Mr. Fredrickson obtained his Juris Doctor in 1976 from The National Law Center, The George Washington University, with high honors. Mr. Fredrickson was elected Vice-President of Public Policy for the National Employment Lawyers Association and serves on NELA's Board of Directors. Mr. Fredrickson is also a Past President and Board member of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association.
Mr. Fredrickson was named the 2000 Trial Lawyer of the Year by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, and the 2001 Lawyer of the Year by the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association. Mr. Fredrickson is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and a frequent lecturer concerning employment discrimination law and trial techniques.
Douglas F. Gansler, Esq.
Doug Gansler is serving his second term as Montgomery County State's Attorney. Mr. Gansler is the chief law enforcement official in the largest jurisdiction in Maryland, with a population of almost one million people and an area covering more than 500 square miles.
Mr. Gansler was raised in Montgomery County, and attended Yale University, where he graduated cum laude and was an All-American lacrosse player. After graduating from the University of Virginia Law School, Mr. Gansler clerked for the Honorable John F. McAuliffe, on the Maryland Court of Appeals, litigated cases as an associate at the law firm of Howrey & Simon, and later was "Of Counsel" to the law firm of Coburn & Schertler. In 1992, Mr. Gansler was appointed Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia, where he prosecuted virtually every type of crime. In 1997, Mr. Gansler received particular recognition for his prosecution of the Georgian diplomat who killed a 16-year-old Montgomery County girl while driving drunk near Dupont Circle. Mr. Gansler led the legal team of the county, state, and federal task force that investigated the Washington, D.C. area sniper shootings in October 2002.
Currently, Mr. Gansler teaches trial advocacy as an adjunct professor at the Washington College of Law at American University and has appeared as a visiting lecturer at the University of Maryland School of Law. Mr. Gansler mentors in a program for at-risk area youth and coaches youth soccer and lacrosse. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Center, the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Pedestrian Safety, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes, Most Valuable Kids, and the Maryland State's Attorney's Association, of which he is vice-president. Mr. Gansler is a member of Leadership Montgomery Class of 2001. Recently, Mr. Gansler chaired the Montgomery County NAACP Criminal Justice Committee, served as Vice-Chairperson of the Governor's Task Force on Childproof Guns, and was a member of the Montgomery County Commission on Aging. In July 2000, the Democratic Leadership Council recognized Mr. Gansler as one of the 'Top 100 New Democrats' in the United States.
Doug Gansler was sworn in as Maryland's Attorney General on January 2, 2007.
Mark A. Gilday, Esq.
Mark Gilday is a partner at Bregman, Berbert, Schwartz & Gilday, LLC in Maryland. His litigation practice includes the defense and prosecution of commercial lawsuits, contract disputes, employment disputes, construction disputes, personal injury lawsuits, and general civil litigation. Mr. Gilday is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts in Maryland and the District of Columbia, including trial and appellate courts. Mr. Gilday also represents clients in arbitration matters, including before the American Arbitration Association.
Judge Eugene N. Hamilton
Eugene N. Hamilton was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where he attended public schools and LeMoyne College. He received his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
In 1970, Hamilton was appointed to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by President Richard M. Nixon. He became Chief Judge of the D.C. Superior Court in 1993 and he continues to serve as Senior Judge, and he is affectionately known as the “People's Judge.” During his tenure as Chief Judge, he established an open community court, to which all persons were offered easy access as victims, litigants, witnesses, lawyers, staff and jurors. This tradition started by Judge Hamilton continues today.
In his early career, he served as a Judge Advocate General Officer in the U.S. Army, where he acted both as trial and defense counsel in many general courts-martial.
After completing military service, Judge Hamilton joined the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he was a trial attorney until his appointment by President Nixon. His other judicial positions have included Deputy Presiding Judge of the Probate and Tax Divisions of the Superior Court, then Presiding Judge of those Divisions. In 1993, he was designated Chief Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and became the second African American to hold that office.
Serving children in the District of Columbia has been an integral part of Judge Hamilton's life and career. In the Superior Court, he established the Urban Services Program, a highly intensive and successful rehabilitative program for both juvenile and young adult offenders who would, without this program, require incarceration. Under this program, there was established one of the few, if not the only “Boot Camp,” supervised and administered by a Court.
Under his tenure as Chief Judge, the highly successful Court Appointed Special Advocates Organization, which advocates for court involved abused and neglected children, was first publicly funded, enabling it to provide this critical service on a regular basis. The WKAY-100 mentor program for abused and neglected court-involved children was also established under the auspices of Hamilton's leadership.
Judge Hamilton is an Adjunct Professor of Law of the American University Washington College of Law and a Lecturer on Law of the Harvard Law School.
Judge Hamilton's commitment carries over into his personal life. Parents of nine children, Judge Hamilton and his wife, Virginia, have been foster parents to more than 40 children who were in the child welfare systems of the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Judge Hamilton is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Luke C. Moore Academy and Senior High School, which is the District of Columbia Public Schools' only nationally accredited alternative high school. He is a member of the Boards of Directors of the University of Illinois, LAS Alumni Association, the Youth Leadership Foundation and the Capital Area Food Bank.
Virginia David Hamilton and Judge Hamilton have been married to each other for over fifty years. They have nine children, Alexandra, Steven, James, Eric, David, Rachael, Jeremiah, Michael and Marcus. They also have eleven grandchildren, Aaron, Kanaan, Arianna, Adrian, Lonnie, Maya, Malik, Malcolm, Samantha, Nathan and Luke.
John F. Karl, Esq.
John Karl is a partner at Karl & Tarone, a law firm in general practice with an emphasis on complex and federal litigation. He has been in private practice since 1979. Since 1985, Mr. Karl served as a Professorial Lecturer at The American University's Washington College of Law, where he currently teaches a seminar on Complex Civil Litigation and Civil Trial Practice. Mr. Karl received his J.D. from the Washington College of Law of The American University in 1979. He holds an Honors B.A., an M.A., and the Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
Mr. Karl is a member of the Bars of the Supreme Court of the United States, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Florida, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the United States Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Fourth and Federal Circuits. He served as President of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers from 1996 to 1998. He has been on the Board of Directors of this association since 1994.
Mr. Karl has served as a Mediator and an Arbitrator in the District of Columbia Superior Court since 1986. He has served as a member of the D.C. Bar's Attorney-Client Arbitration Board, since 1990. The Board resolves fee disputes and claims of attorney malpractice.
James K. Lay, Esq.
James K. Lay is the co-founding partner of Carter & Lay, PLLC in Alexandria, Virginia. The firm was established in March 2006. Jim practices labor, employment and business law including general civil and commercial litigation in state and federal courts. He has served as General Counsel to various labor organizations and Virginia corporations. Prior to establishing Carter & Lay, Jim was a named partner at the Law Offices of James K. Lay, PLLC and Lay, Ippolito & Dillard, PLLC. From 2000 to 2003, Jim was an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for the Office of the Alexandria Commonwealth's Attorney where he prosecuted felony cases comprised of white-collar, firearms and narcotics offenses. He previously served as professional staff to the United States Senate Select Committee for POW/MIA Affairs, and as a Legislative Assistant to the Virginia General Assembly.
Jim has been an adjunct faculty member at American University Washington College of Law since 2002 teaching legal rhetoric and pretrial civil litigation. He received his J.D. in 1998 from George Mason University School of Law. Jim also earned an M.A. in International Transactions and a B.A. in Philosophy, both from George Mason University.
Judge Michael D. Mason
Michael D. Mason has served as an Associate Judge in the Montgomery County Circuit Court, since March 18, 1994. Prior to that appointment, Judge Mason was an Assistant State's Attorney in Montgomery County. He received his B.A. in Economics from Georgetown University, and graduated cum laude from the George Washington University School of Law in 1974.
Admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1974, Judge Mason is a member of the Montgomery County Bar Association, having served as Chair, criminal law section, 1985-86; Administration of Justice Committee; Executive Committee, 1986-87; Chair, Lawyer Referral Committee, 1991-92; Chair, District Court Bench & Bar Committee, 1992-93; and Chair, Circuit Court Bench & Bar committee. Judge Mason is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of The Treatment and Learning Centers, and the Executive Committee of Parents for Options in Special Education.
Judge William Miller
Judge William Miller is a retired Chief Judge for the Sixth Circuit Court of Maryland. He served as Chief Judge from 1995 until his retirement in 1996. From 1982 to 1995, Judge Miller served as Associate Judge for the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. From 1980 to 1982 he served as an Associate Judge for the District Court of Maryland. Judge Miller received his J.D. from George Washington University Law School. After graduating from law school, he worked in private practice until he joined the bench in 1980.
Judge Miller serves as a call back Judge for the Circuit Courts in Montgomery, Prince George's, Anne Arundel, and Queen Anne's Counties. He has sat in the Montgomery County District Court and on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. Since his retirement in 1996, he has acted as a special master, a mediator, an arbitrator and a facilitator in approximately 400 cases. He presided over a triple murder trial and traffic meter court. Judge Miller has been an adjunct professor at the American University Washington College of Law since 1983.
Paul Morella, AEA
Paul Morella is from Washington, DC and has performed professionally in regional theater, film, television and radio for over 25 years. His credits include leading roles and world premieres at some of the most prestigious theatres in the country, including The Shakespeare Theatre, Arena Stage, the Kennedy Center, the Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, LA Theatre Works, the National Players, American Showcase Theatre, the Delaware Theatre Company, the Contemporary American Theatre Festival, and many others. No stranger to lawyers, he received unanimous critical acclaim and a Helen Hayes Award nomination for his portrayal of Roy Cohn in Angels In America, and has appeared as prosecuting attorney Horace Gilmer in the world premiere of To Kill A Mockingbird, as well as attorney Jarreld Schwabe opposite Julia Roberts in The Pelican Brief. Additional film credits include The Replacements (with Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman), The Hunley (with Armand Assante), That Night (with Juliette Lewis), Diner (directed by Barry Levinson), Liberty (with George Kennedy and Chris Sarandon), and A Man Called Hawk with Avery Brooks. Onstage he has worked with Julie Harris, James Farentino, Senator Fred Thompson, Marsha Mason, Robert Prosky, and M. Emmett Walsh, among others, and was a regular on the NBC television series, Homicide: Life On The Streets. He has worked on the HBO series, The Wire, and was regular cast member of the CBS television show, The District, with Craig T. Nelson. An M.F.A. (Acting) graduate of Catholic University, he has also portrayed three felons and two victims on the Fox- TV series, America's Most Wanted, and was recently chosen as one of only two actors to be featured on their special 700th Capture episode. In addition to Clarence Darrow, he has presented such historical figures as John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, and most recently appeared as Teddy Roosevelt in a world premiere production on behalf of the Kennedy Center and the White House Historical Society. He also teaches the Art of Persuasion as part of the Trial Advocacy Program at the Washington College of Law. He is a member of the Screen Actors' Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Actor's Equity Association.
About A Passion For Justice: The Clarence Darrow Story
World Premiere at The American Century Theater in Washington, DC.
Like Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain Tonight, no two performances are quite the same, depending upon the dynamics of a particular group, current events, and audience response.
Steven M. Pavsner, Esq.
Resume (PDF)
Steven M. Pavsner, a shareholder in the Litigation Group of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A., has extensive experience in personal injury litigation, including the prosecution on behalf of victims of product liability cases, medical, legal, accounting and other professional negligence cases, class action litigation, business disputes and other complex civil litigation.
Mr. Pavsner is a 1972 cum laude graduate of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and a 1975 graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center.
He is a member of the Adjunct Faculty at American University Washington College of Law, where he teaches courses in advocacy in the high-tech courtroom and medical liability and public policy.
Judge Irma S. Raker
Irma S. Raker has served as a judge on the Court of Appeals of Maryland since 1994. Prior to that appointment, she served on the Circuit Court for Montgomery County and the District Court of Maryland. She also served as an Assistant State's Attorney for Montgomery County and as a partner in the law firm of Sachs, Greenebaum and Tayler.
Since 1981, Judge Raker has chaired the Committee to Draft Pattern Jury Instructions in Maryland. She has also been an adjunct professor in Civil and Criminal Trial Advocacy at the Washington College of Law from 1980 to the present.
Among Judge Raker's commendations are the Century of Service Award by the Montgomery County Bar Foundation, the Ninth Annual Dorothy Beatty Memorial Award for Significant Contribution to Women's Rights by the Women's Law Center and the Robert C. Heeney Award by the Maryland State Bar Criminal Law Section. The Maryland General Assembly recognized her outstanding contributions to the advancement and welfare of women in Maryland. Judge Raker was named Syracuse Outstanding Alumnus by the Syracuse University Alumni Association of Maryland. She was recognized by The Daily Record as one of "Maryland's Top 100 Women" in 1998, 1999, and 2001, and was a recipient of The Daily Record's Leadership In Law Award in 2001.
Judge Raker has been chosen to receive the 2007 Margaret Brent Award from the American Bar Association (ABA).
Judge Nelson W. Rupp, Jr.
Nelson W. Rupp Jr. has served as an Associate Judge on the Montgomery County Circuit Court since January 17, 1997. Prior to his appointment, Judge Rupp served as Senior Assistant State's Attorney, Montgomery County, 1973-77; Member, Alternative Community Services Commission, City of Rockville, 1975-80; Assistant Public Defender, Montgomery County, 1977-80; Deputy State's Attorney, St. Mary's County, 1980-81; Assistant State's Attorney, Prince George's County, 1981-83, and Associate Judge, Montgomery County, District Court of Maryland, September 23, 1993 to January 16, 1997.
Judge Rupp received his J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law in 1974. He is a member of the Maryland and D.C. Bar, and his awards include the Outstanding Jurist Award, Montgomery County Bar Association, 1995.
On November 17, 2006, Judge Rupp was awarded The Daily Record's Leadership in Law Award. The award honors those who contribute significantly to the legal profession.
Peter R. Sherman, Esq.
Peter R. Sherman is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law, teaching Civil Trial Advocacy and a seminar in family law. Mr. Sherman graduated from Indiana University Business School (B.S., with distinction, 1961) and Georgetown University (LL.B., 1964, LL.M., 1966). He was a member of the Board of Editors of the Georgetown Law Journal, 1963-1964.
A co-founder in 1968 of a District of Columbia general practice law firm most recently known as Sherman, Meehan, Curtin & Ain, P.C., his specializations were family law and civil litigation for many years, narrowing primarily to family law in the 1980's. Mr. Sherman litigated numerous civil and family law cases and argued more than 20 cases in courts of appeals. In 2003 he retired from active practice. Mr. Sherman has been qualified on several occasions as an expert in the District of Columbia Superior Court.
A member of the Task Force on Race and Ethnic Bias in the District of Columbia Courts (1990-1992), and the District of Columbia Superior Court Family Division Rules Revision Committee (1991-1996), Mr. Sherman is also a former Fellow of and Arbiter certified by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. His awards include the E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship in Trial Advocacy, 1965-1966.
Paul T. Stein, Esq.
Paul T. Stein received a B.A. degree from the University of Maryland and a J.D. degree from the Washington College of Law of the American University. Mr. Stein is Board Certified as a civil and criminal trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and has received the International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award for superior proficiency in the Art and Science of Trial Advocacy. In March 2003, he was elected as a fellow to the American College of Trial Lawyers. Mr. Stein served in the States Attorneys' Office for Montgomery County, Maryland from 1970 to 1975, both as a paralegal and as an assistant state's attorney where he was responsible for the prosecution of serious felony matters and the management of a trial team. Mr. Stein has taught litigation to paralegals at the University of Maryland as well as criminal and family law to bar groups and the community and currently teaches in the Trial Practice Program at the American University as an adjunct professor.
Mr. Stein serves as a court-appointed mediator for the Circuit Court of Montgomery County and as a panel chair for medical malpractice hearings for the Maryland Health Claim Arbitration Office. Formerly, he served as Chairman of the Montgomery County Commission on Landlord and Tenant Affairs, as a member of the Executive Committee of the Montgomery County Bar Association, Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, as President of the Central Maryland Chapter of the United States Navy League, as a member of the Economic Development Commission for the City of Rockville, and as a member of the Board of Directors and Finance Committee of the Hebrew Home of Washington, D.C.
Katherine Winfree, Esq.
Katherine Winfree graduated in 1973 from the College of William and Mary, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1975, where she was Note Editor of the Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. Following law school, she was accepted into the Honors Program of the United States Justice Department, where she served in the Appellate Section of the Criminal Division from 1976 to 1980. In 1980, she was appointed as an Assistant United State's Attorney for the District of Columbia, where she served in the Appellate, Misdemeanor and Felony Trial, Chronic Offender, Homicide, Economic Crime and Public Corruption Sections. Winfree also served as Chief of the Misdemeanor Trial, Economic Crime and Public Corruption Sections. During her tenure as a federal prosecutor, she was the recipient of the Harold Sullivan Award honoring her as the top prosecutor from among 350 Assistant United States Attorneys. In addition to numerous Special Achievement Awards for outstanding performance, she received the FBI Director's Superior Performance Award for leading a major federal money laundering investigation and prosecution of two major automobile dealerships and their employees that resulted in 19 convictions and more than three million dollars in forfeitures.
She was appointed Principal Deputy State's Attorney for Montgomery County in 1999. During her career, she has prosecuted a number of significant cases. These include the Beltway snipers, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, who terrorized the Washington metropolitan area in October 2002; Robert Lucas, who murdered Monsignor Thomas Wells in the rectory of Mother Seton Catholic Church in Germantown; and Zacharia Oweiss, a prominent physician who beat his wife to death in their Potomac home.
In January 2007, Winfree was appointed Chief Deputy Attorney General for the State of Maryland.
Judge Patrick Woodward
Judge Patrick Woodward has served as a Judge on the Court of Special Appeals for Montgomery County since May 26, 2005. Prior to his appointment, he served as Associate Judge, Montgomery County Circuit Court, from May 7, 1998 to May 25, 2005.
Judge Woodward received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1973. He served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Edward S. Northrop, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, from 1973-74, prior to service in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Captain from 1974-75. Judge Woodward served as an Associate with the Law Offices of Rourke J. Sheehan, 1974-78; as Partner, Sheehan & Woodward from 1978-80; Partner, Jackson, Campbell & Parkinson, and Director, Jackson & Campbell, P.C. from 1980-87. He acted as a sole practitioner from 1987-91 before his appointment to the Montgomery County District Court, which lasted from 1991-1998. His awards include the President's Citation, Montgomery County, Maryland Bar Foundation, 1986; the Champion for Children Award, Maryland Citizen Board for Review of Foster Care for Children, 1996; and the Outstanding Jurist Award, Montgomery County Bar Association, 1997.
