Author: JGL Law

UPDATE – 03/20/2020

In our continuing effort to do everything we can to protect the health and safety of our employees and clients, and to do our part in helping to contain the spread of the Coronavirus, effective March 20, 2020 most of our employees will begin working remotely.  During these trying times we want to assure all of our clients that the firm’s unwavering commitment to client service continues unabated.  In anticipation of this day, we have established robust remote working capabilities that will permit our attorneys and staff to continue to provide the high level of legal services our clients have come to expect. As has been the case for more than 50 years, JGL is here for its clients.  Please do not hesitate to call or email your JGL attorney during this chaotic time.

 

---

ORIGINAL – 03/16/2020

As our communities work together to keep you and your family safe, we would like to reassure you that our client’s and employee’s health and well-being are top priorities for us as well.

First, JGL is taking additional measures to clean and sanitize our offices. We are being diligent and mindful of any changes as they occur and will work hard to find solutions to providing the legal services you need while maintaining a healthy, safe environment.

We’ve advised our staff to watch for symptoms of sickness and signs of coronavirus. If a staff member is sick or symptomatic, we’ve advised them to stay home and limit close contact with others.

We suggest that anyone who plans to visit offices should do the same. Signs of corona virus are:

·         Fever

·         Coughing

·         Shortness of breath

·         In severe cases pneumonia (infection in the lungs).

We are using anti-bacterial solutions and wipes to clean public surfaces frequently. We’re encouraging staff to clean workspaces daily and to properly wash hands throughout the day.

We are encouraging clients to use telephone or email contact as an alternative to in person meetings, if they prefer. We can facilitate virtual meetings through Skype and Facetime.

If necessary, we can continue to provide full client service and legal representation, even if some staff are required to work remotely. We have state of the art, secure technology to maintain our law firm operations, even if personal contact and access are severely restricted.

At JGL Law we will continue to keep a close watch on the evolving situation and the guidance provided by the World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and state, provincial and local governments.

Despite the current challenges, we are committed to helping our clients with exceptional legal representation as we have for over 50 years.

 

Burt Kahn & Paul Riekhof

Managing Directors

Joseph Greenwald & Laake

In Maryland, there is no legal statute stating that a parent’s gender should be taken into consideration when awarding child custody. Still, many men believe that the court will side with women in divorce proceedings mainly because historically, this was the case, at least when it came to child custody matters.[1]

These men do not believe that they have the same rights as the mothers of their children, legally speaking.

It is important for everyone involved in child custody hearings to understand that each parent has the same legal rights to the shared children,[2] and each parent should be able to raise the children and remain an active part of their lives. To help ensure fathers are afforded these rights, it is important that they prepare for child custody hearings so they can negotiate more effectively.

How to Prepare for Child Custody Hearings

Before entering child custody hearings, it is important that you understand custody and what you want.  In Maryland, there are two separate and mutually exclusive custody terms. 

Legal Custody is the ability to make important decisions for the children, including where they will go to school, what medical treatment they will receive, religion they will follow, and other important decisions.  

As a parent, you will likely want to participate in the decision making of your child and want to participate in legal custody. The court can award sole legal custody to a parent or award the parents joint custody.  If the court awards joint custody and there is a likelihood of conflict, the parties may agree or the court may order that one party has tie-breaking authority or attend mediation to resolve future conflicts.  The parties can also employ a parent coordinator (which is either an attorney or social worker familiar with family cases) who will meet with the parties with the goal of assisting them in reaching joint decisions.   

Physical Custody dictates where the children will live the majority of the time.  There are a myriad of custody schedules that you may want to consider based on work schedules, extracurricular activities, and your child’s specific history and needs.

When preparing for child custody hearings, it is crucial to spend as much time as you can with your children and take photographs with you in the photos. Take them to and from school, attend pediatrician and dentist appointments, attend all of their extra-curricular activities, and plan to see your children whenever you can.  This will show your children, and everyone else involved in their lives, that you care about your children and want to be an active part of their upbringing. This will prove helpful during child custody hearings. 

It is also just as important that you prepare a parenting plan. You cannot count on the mother to equally allocate parenting time between the two of you. Within the parenting plan, include a custody and visitation cycle, arrangements for the holidays, how often each parent will get overnight visits, and a schedule for special events, such as the children’s birthdays. This will show that you have planned for the inevitable, and that you are planning to make post-divorce life as easy as possible for your children.

How to Negotiate for Child Custody Effectively

If you have prepared for child custody hearings adequately, you can use that planning to your advantage. The people in your children’s lives can testify that you truly care about being a part of your children’s lives, and you can use the parenting plan you have drafted to show that you have given great thought as to how you can spend time with your children after the divorce because it is important to you.

You may even be able to keep the matter out of the courts entirely. If you can draft a parenting plan and present it to the other parent, he or she can review it and make notes. You can then make your own notes and continue on in this fashion until the two of you have come to an agreement that is suitable for both of you. This is often a better option than leaving the final decision to a judge who has never met you and, more importantly, never met your child.

Our Maryland Divorce Lawyers can help with Child Custody Matters

The above tips are effective when going through child custody hearings, but you may still need a family law attorney to help draft your parenting plan and negotiate on your behalf. At Joseph, Greenwald, & Laake, P.A., we can help you fully prepare for divorce proceedings, and all they will entail. We will also negotiate with the other side to get you the best terms possible. Call Darin Rumer today at (240) 399-7818 to request a consultation.

Representation of client in one of the largest Health Claims Arbitration awards in Maryland, in an obstetrical medical negligence case under Maryland Arbitration Statute – $5,400,000.

Recently, the Government of Canada announced the first major overhaul to its family law system in over 20 years. Bill C-78 passed both houses of Parliament and received formal approval from Canada’s Governor General on June 21, 2019. Unlike the United States, where issues like divorce and child custody are generally handled on a state-by-state basis, Canada has a single federal Divorce Act that governs these issues.

Why Did Canada Need to Change Its System?

Back in May 2018, then-Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould introduced C-78 in Canada’s House of Commons. At the time, Wilson-Raybould said the government’s main objective in updating the Divorce Act and related statutes was to “put children first.” Among other objectives, the government wanted to de-emphasize conflict and litigation in favor of less contentious means of resolving parenting disputes, such as mediation and collaborative law.

To that end, Bill C-78 looks to “simplify certain processes, including those related to family support obligations,” as well as providing additional measures to help Canada’s family court system address cases of domestic violence.

How Will C-78 Implement Changes to Family Law?

Bill C-78 largely replaces the use of the terms “custody,” “custody order,” and “access” in the Divorce Act with language that emphasizes “parenting,” “parenting order,” and “decision-making responsibility” instead. When making a parenting order under the new legislation, a Canadian court must “consider all factors related to the circumstances of the child,” which includes, but not are limited to:

●      the child’s needs, given their age and stage of development, including the need for stability;

●      the nature and strength of the child’s relationship with each parent and other family members, including any siblings or grandparents;

●      the willingness of each parent to support the development and maintenance of the child’s relationship with the other parent;

●      the child’s own views and preferences, giving due weight to their age and maturity;

●      the child’s overall cultural, linguistic, religious, and spiritual life, including their indigenous upbringing and heritage where applicable; and

●      the impact of any previous acts of family violence.

Bill C-78 also creates a new legal distinction between a “simple change” in a child’s residence and a “relocation.” In the latter case, the parent seeking relocation must notify the other parent at least 60 days in advance. If the other parent objects, the parent seeking relocation must obtain a court order.

It should be noted that Bill C-78 is a very complex piece of legislation and not all of its provisions will take effect immediately. The Canadian government will publish regulations to implement various provisions of the law over the next year or so.

What Has the Feedback Been on Bill C-78?

Although many Canadian family law attorneys supported C-78 in its final form, there has been some notable criticism from advocates of “equal shared parenting” (ESP). According to Ontario’s Law Times, proponents of ESP lobbied Canada’s Senate to amend C-78 to require a “rebuttable presumption” in contested parenting cases. In other words, a 50-50 split of parenting time would be the default position in every child custody dispute.

The Senate did not adopt this amendment and, as the Law Times noted, Canadian law has never recognized the equal parenting presumption. And while supporters point to polling data that suggest there is strong popular support for ESP, one Toronto family law attorney told the Law Times that “there are real problems with the presumption of equal parenting time,” and it can actually invite more litigation, “particularly in situations where there may be high conflict or potential for domestic violence.”

Will the United States follow suit?

As mentioned above, each state enacts its own policies, laws and procedures when it comes to divorce matters.  While there are federal statutes that can control and impact disputes over child custody and support matters there are no such laws that control divorce laws throughout the United States.

Contact Joseph Greenwald & Laake, PA

David Bulitt and Allison McFadden practice in Joseph, Greenwald & Laake’s family law department.

If you have questions about your family law, divorce, or child custody case, our lawyers can help. Please reach out to David, Allison or one of our other family law practitioners to our law firm today to schedule a consultation.

www.jgllaw.com

The Appellate Court of Maryland reversed client’s conspiracy conviction based on a violation of the Fourth Amendment arising from an illegal search of the defendant’s cellular phone.

The appellate decision is available here (PDF).

GREENBELT, MD., January 16, 2020 — Joseph Greenwald & Laake P.A. is pleased to announce that Alyse L. Prawde has been elevated to Senior Counsel.

“We are delighted to promote Alyse to this highly responsible position,” said Burt Kahn, Managing Director. “Among her major contributions to the firm, she has been an outstanding advocate and an asset to our Civil Litigation group.

Alyse L. Prawde is a member of the Firm’s Civil Litigation group. She focuses her practice on representing individuals and businesses in a range of complex litigation matters in state and federal court. Her practice covers civil rights litigation, commercial disputes, employment law (including employment discrimination, wrongful termination, and disputes over non-compete and non-solicitation agreements), appellate representation, and school litigation (including representing victims who are sexually abused or injured by school employees). She was named a Maryland Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2020.

Alyse earned her J.D. in 2014, from the University of Maryland, and in 2011 received a B.A. degree from the College of William & Mary.

About Joseph Greenwald & Laake

For more than 40 years, Joseph Greenwald & Laake has worked with individuals and businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia, taking on the most complex of legal issues with sophisticated counsel and a personal touch. JGL serves clients in virtually all areas of the law.

DOJ FILES COMPLAINT, JOINING WHISTLEBLOWER CASE AGAINST

INDIANA HOSPITAL SYSTEM COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – January 7, 2020– The Court unsealed a False Claims Act lawsuit on December 23, 2019, filed by seasoned healthcare finance and operations executive Thomas Fischer against Indianapolis based Community Health Network. Fischer is a whistleblower, filing under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. His complaint alleges that Community paid physician kickbacks for years in a variety of forms to encourage them to steer patients to Community’s hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and other facilities.

On behalf of the federal government, the Department of Justice partially joined the lawsuit in August and filed its own complaint this week. It methodically details alleged kickback schemes related to physician compensation totaling many tens of millions of dollars citing critical witness testimony to bolster its claims.

Both federal and state law prohibit payments of any kind – including inflated salaries and lucrative investment opportunities – to physicians to influence where the physicians treat or refer patients. Fischer’s whistleblower and retaliation complaint alleges that Community did just that – paying doctors substantial kickbacks in the form of inflated salaries, bonuses and investment opportunities to get them to send unwitting patients to Community’s hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and other facilities instead of to competing healthcare providers. The total number of patients affected will be investigated in the litigation.   

Mr. Fischer’s litigation team includes veteran whistleblower and employment attorneys who look forward to prosecuting the case alongside the government in a public-private partnership.

“The government’s intervention demonstrates how seriously it takes the allegations Tom Fischer raised,” said Jay P. Holland, lead counsel for Mr. Fischer. Fischer’s Indianapolis–based attorney Kathleen DeLaney added, “as the case goes forward, we look forward to continuing to work with the government to hold Community Health Network responsible for any illegal and retaliatory conduct.”

Mr. Fischer’s other counsel, Tim McCormack and Veronica Nannis, described the laws at issue. “Congress passed the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law because studies showed that doctors often ordered more, often medically unnecessary, services if they had improper financial incentives,” explained McCormack. Nannis added, “prosecuting these cases is about protecting patients. When hospitals lock up referrals by paying kickbacks, they don’t have to compete for patients by offering lower cost, higher quality care and responsive customer service.”  

Mr. Fischer praised the government’s investigation. “I am grateful for all the hard work the Department of Justice invested in investigating these issues,” said Mr. Fischer. “At its core, the problems I reported are not about arcane financial dealings; they affect real lives of patients, hospital employees and the excessive cost of healthcare services in the Indianapolis marketplace.”   

The case is captioned U.S. and State of Indiana ex rel Fischer v. Community Health Network, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-1215-RLY-DKL. Mr. Fischer is represented by a team of attorneys including Jay Holland, Veronica Nannis and Sarah Chu from Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, Tim McCormack from Van Meer & Belanger and Kathleen DeLaney from DeLaney & DeLaney LLC in Indianapolis. The government’s team is led by Arthur DiDio of the U.S. Department of Justice, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Josh Minkler, and Civil Chief for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Indiana, Shelese Woods.   

Representation of a client in an obstetrical malpractice case which resulted in $5,000,000 settlement.

Michael Dano Jackley, founder of the business law and tax department at Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA, died Sunday, December 22, 2019, in Winchester, Virginia.

Mr. Jackley, a Baltimore native, was 77 years old. He joined the Prince George’s County firm in 1973 when the firm decided to expand its litigation based practice to business. He later added to his department and expanded its practice to include estate planning. He was a partner at the firm for 32 years, having been so elected after just three years of employment there.

Mr. Jackley was a graduate of the University of Maryland (political science) and attended the University of Maryland School of Law at night while working full time as a financial analyst for the Internal Revenue Service. He then attended the George Washington National  Law Center, again as a night student, earning a master’s degree in corporate law with highest honors.

Mr. Jackley, known for his humor and love of music, represented a wide variety of local,  regional, and national business clients, ranging from actress Tippi Hedron, to singers Peaches and Herb, to numerous businesses including medical practices, accounting firms, builders, printers, and major government contractors.

Before his retirement in 2008 due to heart issues, Mr. Jackley was named as among Washington’s top tax attorneys by Washingtonian Magazine five times and as one of the top local business attorneys by Baltimore Magazine.

In his retirement, Mr. Jackley was active in the Loudon Fairfax Survivors of Traumatic Brain Injuries.

Mr. Jackley is survived by his wife, Karen K. Jackley, of Middleburg, Virginia, whom he married in 1987, a daughter Megan of Seattle and two grandsons, and two step-daughters.

A celebration of Mr. Jackley’s life will be held in Middleburg, Virginia, in mid-January 2020.

Upheld the then largest ever verdict against Prince George’s County in police abuse case; established new cause of action for pattern or practice of constitutional violations under Maryland Constitution. Prince George’s County v. Longtin (Md. 2011)

Maryland – The 2020 edition of Maryland, Super Lawyers magazine recently named 13 Joseph Greenwald & Laake, P.A. attorneys to its annual Maryland, Super Lawyers lists.

Among which Patrick W. Dragga was listed as one of the lawyers who ranked top in the 2020 Maryland Super Lawyers (Top 100). 

The Maryland, attorneys who made this year’s Super Lawyers list, including their primary practice areas as identified by Super Lawyers, are:

GREENBELT, MD –

• Andrew E. Greenwald –  Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff

• Burt M. Kahn – Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff

• Jay P. Holland – Labor & Employment

• Steven M. Pavsner – Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff

• Timothy F. Maloney – Gen Litigation 

• Walter E. Laake – Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff

ROCKVILLE, MD – 

• David M. Bulitt – Family Law

• Jeffrey N. Greenblatt – Family Law

• Patrick W. Dragga – Family Law 

• P. Lindsay Parvis – Family Law 

• Anne E. Grover – Family Law

RISING STAR  – 

• Alyse Prawde – Civil Litigation: Plaintiff 

• Rama Taib-Lopez – Family Law

• Christopher R. Castellano – Family Law

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

About Joseph Greenwald & Laake

For more than 40 years, Joseph Greenwald & Laake has worked with individuals and businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia, taking on the most complex of legal issues with sophisticated counsel and a personal touch. JGL serves clients in virtually all areas of the law.

After more than four decades of serving his clients in the Washington, DC, area, one of our founding partners, Walter Laake has decided to retire from the practice of law effective October 30, 2019.

As one of the area’s preeminent personal injury lawyers over the years, Walter won sizeable verdicts for countless individuals who suffered serious injuries and helped to establish many landmark legal precedents. He had a very creative approach to some of the legal problems our clients faced.

He served as the managing director of our Firm, for many years. In his spare time, he served as Prince George’s County Bar Association’s President as well as serving as President of the Maryland Association of Justice (known at the time as The Maryland Trial Lawyers Association)

We stand ready to continue in Walter’s footsteps and to provide the highest quality legal services to the people of Maryland and beyond.