It is hard to believe that I am coming up on 35 years as a practicing attorney throughout the State of Maryland and especially here in Howard County. The practice started quite small, but now it has blossomed into a mid-sized family law firm that has served thousands of clients with advice, litigation, mediation and appellate work over the past many years.
As many of you know, I started practicing law in 1990, right after clerking for a judge in Baltimore City. Early on, in addition to family law, I practiced construction and real estate litigation, medical malpractice, serious personal injury litigation, as well as general civil and criminal litigation in both Maryland’s State and Federal trial court and appellate courts.
Somewhere along this journey, I felt the calling to care for those in the most need, which is why I had made the decision to devote my legal practice to the care and advice for those men and women in our community going through a family law matter, such as a custody case or divorce. Based on the decades of referrals from my former clients and colleagues within the community, I quickly became known as the attorney who handles the most complex financial divorces, as well as the most complex child custody matters. For the past several years, the attorneys in our community have also relied on me to help assist their clients by mediating their own complex family law cases.
It has been my absolute honor and privilege to be entrusted with the tremendous responsibility of your care and needs and to provide you with advice and support when you have needed it the most.
It is now time to begin the process of passing the baton to the younger generation of family law attorneys within my firm. Over the next several months, I will taper my active practice to handle more family law mediations, while working with Michael to ensure a seamless transition for all of you. You will likely only see evidence of these changes with the changing of our firm name, but you will always continue to receive the same high quality of services I have worked hard to provide since 1990.
I will now be the Senior Counsel to the firm my wife Gayle and I created more than 24 years ago, and I will retire from the active practice of family law on July 1, 2025, literally 35 years to the day of starting as a young associate attorney in Howard County.
Being a divorce attorney for nearly 35 years and caring for the needs of my clients is a part of my very soul, and a skill which I have always loved. I am confident I am leaving you in the best hands of Michael and our firm, who will continue to provide the same care you have come to expect and deserve.
My next chapter will include both consulting to the firm for the years to come, as well as becoming an even more active family law mediator. I intend to offer my services as a Zoom family law mediator throughout the State of Maryland, so that I can continue with my professional mission of helping Maryland’s families navigate through the most difficult time of their lives.
So, I am definitely not disappearing. I am just moving my professional compass in a different direction.
And finally, I will now have the long overdue chance to enjoy more time with my wife, Gayle, who helped me open this practice, mold it, shape it and grow it from its chrysalis to a bright and shining service business. Gayle, myself and our two wonderful children have lived this journey with me, and now we have a new grandchild to spend time with and bring daily joy into our lives.
Many thanks for the confidence and trust that you have given me over the past several decades. I am forever grateful, and I hope to see you around.
With My Very Best Regards,
Harry