Author: JGL Law

Brian J. Markovitz, an attorney with the suburban Maryland firm of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA was a major force behind a new Maryland law clarifying the definition of “wage” as used in the State’s Wage Payment and Collection Law.

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(Vocus/PRWEB ) April 22, 2010 — On April 13, 2010, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law Maryland HB214/S694, “clarifying (that) the definition of ‘wage’ as used in the Wage Payment and Collection Law” has always included and includes overtime. As a result, Maryland employees who are withheld overtime pay illegally and without good reason can seek triple damages on the overtime they are owed. The law is intended to specifically address two incorrect federal court rulings, McLaughlin v. Murphy and Williams v. Maryland Office Relocators, Inc., in which the federal courts mistakenly held that the triple damages provision did not apply overtime.

The law was the result of the suggestion of Brian J. Markovitz, an attorney with the law firm Joseph, Greenwald and Laake, P.A., to Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk who sponsored the bill in the House of Delegates and saw to its passage through both chambers. “The two federal court holdings were inconsistent with state court rulings and the intent of the legislature in passing the Wage Payment and Collection Act in 1993, and these rulings resulted in a lot of unnecessary confusion with the courts at all levels that needed to be clarified,” said Brian Markovitz. As the bill is a clarification of existing law, it applies to pending cases. “Delegate Peña-Melnyk and Senator Lenett, the Senate sponsor, did fantastic jobs ensuring that there will be judicial clarity on this issue,” Mr. Markovitz said.

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA, is a full service law firm with 33 lawyers, practicing in several areas, including business, tax, criminal, employment, family, personal injury, estate planning and medical malpractice. JGL serves local and national clients in Washington, DC, and throughout Maryland. It has offices in Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Howard Counties.

Clayborne E Chavers Joins Suburban Maryland Law Firm

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Clayborne E. Chavers, Sr., a nationally known civil rights attorney, has joined the Maryland law firm of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA.

Greenbelt (Vocus/PRWEB ) March 19, 2010 — Clayborne E. Chavers, Sr., a nationally known civil rights attorney, has joined Joseph, Greenwald & Laake. Chavers will head the Firm’s Strategic Employment Group at the Firm’s Greenbelt headquarters.

Chavers is the originating attorney in the landmark civil rights case against Eastman Kodak which resulted in a settlement of $21.4 million dollars. He has represented employers and employees in civil rights cases for more than 25 years and has developed a corporate diversity plan designed to assist Fortune 1000 companies in taking a prospective approach to potential civil rights violations.

Chavers is also a pioneer in the fields of government contracts, business, and arts and entertainment law. Chavers, who began his career at the National Endowment for the Arts, was one of the first lawyers in the greater Washington, DC, area to specialize in specialize in the Arts and Entertainment industry and is the founder and first chairman of the Entertainment, Sports, and Art Section of the National Bar Association. He has represented numerous local television and radio personalities.

“Clay has extensive insight and interest in the economic advantages cultural diversity can generate for industry,” noted Burt M. Kahn, the Firm’s managing director. “Clay’s addition to the Firm expands the Firm’s substantial employment practice, especially with Clay’s reach into a client base that stretches around the country and the world,” said Kahn.

Chavers’ experience spans many fields from contract negotiations, commercial real estate development, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, economic development, corporate governance, to employee training and management relations. He has represented national and international clients, successfully closing complex business deals, managing litigation and negotiations at the administrative, trial, and appellate levels in state courts and federal courts.

Chavers has been a frequent speaker at professional and educational forums, including among others National Association of Broadcasters, Women in Film and Video, Congressional Black Caucus of the United States Congress, Public Broadcasting Service, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Georgetown University Law Center, District of Columbia Bar Association, Washington Lawyers for The Arts, The National Bar Association, National Association of Broadcasters, The College of William and Mary Law School, Temple University School of Law, and The American University.

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA, is a full service law firm with 33 lawyers, practicing in the areas of business, tax, criminal, personal injury, and medical malpractice. JGL serves local and national clients in Washington, DC, and throughout Maryland. It has offices in Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Calvert Counties.

Learn more about JGL at www.jgllaw.com

“Lady Bankruptcy Lawyer” Joins Expanding Maryland Law Firm

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Sari Kurson Kurland, known to her clients as the “lady bankruptcy lawyer” has become of counsel to the Suburban Maryland law firm of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA.

(Vocus/PRWEB ) February 3, 2010 — Sari Karson Kurland joined Joseph Greenwald and Laake, P.A. on January 1, 2010 . She is “of counsel” to the law firm. Ms. Kurland continues to serve as Principal of The Law Offices of Sari Karson Kurland, LLC which she founded in 1992. The focus of Ms. Kurland law practice is helping consumers and small businesses resolve debt through bankruptcy and negotiated workouts. Ms. Kurland has significant experience in all phases of complex Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases. Ms. Kurland’s primary areas of practice are consumer bankruptcy and mortgage loan modification.

Receiving her JD from IIT-Kent College of Law in Chicago, IL (1987) , Ms. Kurland is admitted to practice law in the following jurisdictions: Illinois (1988), District of Columbia (1990), and Maryland (2000). Ms. Kurland is also admitted to the following Courts: U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (1991), U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (1992) and U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1988).

Ms. Kurland is a member of the Executive Council of the Consumer Bankruptcy Section of the Maryland State Bar Association. She is married to Bobby Bloch, owner of Bobby’s Crabcakes in the Rockville Town Square and has three children, two high school students and a freshman at the University of Michigan.

Ms. Kurland is proud to be part of Joseph, Greenwald and Laake, P.A.’s new home in Rockville Maryland and looks forward to a prosperous relationship with this prestigious and historic Maryland law firm.”I am so excited to join such an established and dynamic group,” Kurland remarked.

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A., currently has 32 lawyers, operating both from its main location at 6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400, Greenbelt, Maryland as well as its Montgomery County hub in the Rockville Town Center located at 111 Rockville Pike, Suite #975. The Firm’s areas of practice include family law, business, tax, criminal, employment, personal injury, and medical malpractice. JGL serves clients in Washington, DC, and throughout Maryland. Learn more about JGL at www.jgllaw.com.

JGL Moves Forward with Montgomery County Expansion

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA, is preparing to open the doors of its 8000 square foot office in the Rockville Town Center in Montgomery County, Maryland. Two Montgomery County lawyers, Regina DeMeo and Harvey S. Jacobs, are joining the firm to aid in its growth and improve service to the firm’s clients.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – October 19, 2009 — Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A., the second largest firm in Prince George’s County, has added two lawyers to its new Montgomery County office.

“Our Montgomery County office is close to being fully staffed,” stated David Bulitt, JGL’s assistant managing director who will head the new office. The Montgomery County campus is located at 111 Rockville Pike, #975 in the heart of the Rockville Town Center. The office will open in early November 2009.

“We are pleased to have Harvey S. Jacobs, Esq., and Regina A. DeMeo, Esq., joining us as we move fulltime into Montgomery County,” said Bulitt. “Each of them helps us fulfill our strategic plan which calls for not only expansion of offices but expansion of talent and areas of law,” he continued.

Both Jacobs and DeMeo have been practicing as solos in Montgomery County.

Jacobs has more than two decades of experience in corporate and business transactions-from residential real estate settlements to intellectual property. “I have called my firm ‘The Internet Law Firm,” explained Jacobs, “because I know how to capture the net’s resources for my clients, many of whom have been high tech clients.” “I am pleased to bring my experience with local and national entrepreneurs in the internet, telecommunications, software, and emerging technologies areas to JGL’s 40-plus years of experience with local and regional businesses. The synergies of my practice areas and JGL’s established business base are exciting,” he said.

Jacobs’ many professional accomplishments include handling “roll-up” of the then-burgeoning paging industry; handling all legal and financial aspects of mergers, acquisitions, outright sales and licensing of telecommunications assets; representing a wide variety of business clients as outside general counsel (environmental remediation contractor, postal service government contractor, real estate developers, real estate investors, skydiving center, computer manufacturers, software companies), and representing over 80 “Dot-Com” and other high tech clients.

Jacobs will join JGL effective December 1, 2009.

DeMeo has been practicing family law in the DC Metropolitan Area for over a decade, and has been listed in the Washingtonian Magazine as one of the Top Divorce Lawyers in the area. She has been a long-standing volunteer at the DC Bar and DC Family Court, and is active with both her alma maters Georgetown University and The George Washington University Law School, where she is lecturing this fall. In 2006, she was trained in Mediation and Collaborative Divorce and has been approved as an Alternate Dispute Resolution facilitator for both the District of Columbia Family Court and Montgomery County Circuit Court. In 2009, DeMeo was named as a “Rising Star” in Maryland’s Super Lawyer Magazine. She is currently serving a three-year term on the DC Bar’s Family Law Section Steering Committee, and was recently elected President of Collaborative Divorce Association, Inc., which is an interdisciplinary group of lawyers, mental health professionals and financial experts in Montgomery County who practice and promote collaborative law. “I am very excited to join JGL’s family law group,” said DeMeo. “Virtually every year several members of this group of JGL attorneys are recognized by Washingtonian Magazine, Super Lawyer Magazine, and various state and national groups as outstanding family law practitioners. It is an honor to be part of this group,” she said. “I have a particular interest in the emerging field of collaborative law, and JGL has given me the green light to move forward in expanding its family law practice in that area, as well as supporting the firm’s long-established family law litigation and mediation practices.,” DeMeo said.

DeMeo will join JGL effective November 1, 2009.

With the addition of Jacobs and DeMeo, JGL will have 33 lawyers. Its main office will continue to be located at 6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400, Greenbelt, Maryland.

For further information, visit www.jgllaw.com

JGL Lawyer To Head New MSBA/ABA Pro Bono Tax Program

Robb A. Longman, senior associate in Joseph, Greenwald & Laake’s business/tax practice group, has been tapped by the Maryland State Bar Association Tax Section to expand the Section’s award-winning pro bono program nationally with the American Bar Association.

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Greenbelt, MD – October 16, 2009 — Robb A. Longman, senior associate in Joseph, Greenwald & Laake’s business/tax practice group, has been tapped by the Maryland State Bar Association Tax Section to expand the Section’s award-winning pro bono program nationally with the American Bar Association.

“Last year our section won the MSBA pro bono service award for its program in matching pro bono tax attorneys with pro se litigants at the U.S. Tax Court,” explained Longman. “The program was so successful that we were approached by the Tax Section of the American Bar Association to work with its pro bono coordinator to set up this program in 32 venues around the country.”

The U.S. Tax Court travels to different cities on a regular basis. For example, it will be in Baltimore on November 30. Mr. Longman uses the MSBA list serve to recruit volunteer attorneys to appear at the Tax Court’s calendar call. “Pro se litigants with a case under $50,000 can meet with one of our volunteers and the Internal Revenue Service counsel. Hopefully, a consent agreement can be reached. If not, the volunteer attorney may represent the litigant pro bono if the attorney chooses to do so.”

In his new role, Mr. Longman will be working with the ABA’s pro bono coordinator to set up this program in other states. There are 32 sites where the Tax Court sits that do not have any pro bono clinic. “These 32 sites will be our focus,” said Mr. Longman.

“The Tax Court has been thrilled with the program,” said Mr. Longman. “It moves the docket along and has saved countless hours of courtroom time.”

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A., is headquartered in Greenbelt, Maryland, with a satellite office in Rockville. JGL, a full-service law firm with 33 lawyers, has been serving the citizens of suburban Maryland and the District of Columbia for more than 40 years.

For further information, contact Robb A. Longman, Esq., at 240 553 1218.

Firm to Open New Office in Rockville
Debora Fajer-Smith Joins As Part of Expansion
Lawyers To Be Added in Greenbelt and Rockville Offices

Greenbelt, Maryland-Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A., one of the largest and oldest firms in Prince George’s County, will be opening a satellite campus in Rockville Town Center by Labor Day. JGL plans to house a dozen lawyers there, as well as paralegals and support staff. “A few will come from our Greenbelt headquarters and the rest will be new laterals,” said assistant managing director, David Bulitt, Esq., who is chairing the Firm’s expansion efforts.

JGL will take over 7,517 square feet of newly renovated space at 111 Rockville Pike, just a stone’s throw from the Montgomery County Judicial Center and in the center of the expanding business and legal heart of Montgomery County.

A Montgomery County office is not new for JGL. “We have had a small satellite office in Rockville for many years, but we needed more than an outpost to meet the needs of our expanding practice in Montgomery County and further west. We have come to understand that our future lies in diversifying our practice areas and our locations,” said Bulitt.

“Our Greenbelt office will remain our headquarters, and expansion is planned in both offices. If we move a lawyer to the Rockville office, we will replace him or her with another lawyer in Greenbelt,” Bulitt said.
In anticipation of the opening of the Rockville campus, Debora Fajer-Smith, Esq., recently joined the Firm’s Greenbelt’s office. “The addition of Ms. Fajer-Smith met three goals. She brings a new practice area to the firm-worker’s compensation. She also has a substantial practice in Prince George’s County and in Southern Maryland, thereby strengthening the Firm’s foothold there. And she will take the place of another lawyer who will move to the Rockville office,” explained Bulitt. (See attached biography of Ms. Fajer-Smith.)

“Not only are we expanding our locations, we are seeking to expand our practice areas. We hope that Ms. Fajer-Smith’s addition will be the tip of the iceberg, with several new practice areas to be bolstered or added within the next year,” according to Bulitt.

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A., currently has 31 lawyers, operating from its offices at 6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400, Greenbelt, Maryland. The Firm’s areas of practice include family law, business, tax, criminal, personal injury, and medical malpractice. JGL serves clients in Washington, DC, and throughout Maryland. Learn more about JGL at www.jgllaw.com.

For further information, contact David Bulitt, Esq., (240) 553-1193.

Partners Jay Holland and Veronica Nannis Represented Whistleblower Who Filed False Claims Act Complaint Against Trans1 (Now known as Baxano) Which Alleged Off-Label Marketing and Promotion of a Spinal Device; And Caused Hospitals and Doctors to Improperly Bill Medicare, Medicaid and Other Government Insurance Programs.

For Immediate Release		Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.
September 1, 2010		Contact: Jay Holland (301) 220-2200

 

Baltimore whistleblower aided government investigation

The pharmaceutical company Allergan, Inc., entered into a $600,000,000 settlement and agreement to plead guilty after a Federal investigation into illegal marketing practices of Botox. The investigation was aided by Albert Hallivis, company employee turned whistleblower, who was represented by Jay Holland and Brian Markovitz of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.. Hallivis, who remains employed by Allergan, revealed to federal investigators that the company was urging doctors to prescribe Botox to treat for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The practice, known as “off-label” marketing, is prohibited by federal law.

As part of his job as sales representative, Hallivis was expected to market “off-label” uses for Botox as a way to increase sales. Hallivis, troubled that he was asked to violate federal law, called FDA’s Help Line. Thereafter, Hallivis filed a whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act and assisted the Department of Justice as well as the FBI by providing key information about Allergan’s illegal practices.

The FDA approves drugs for specific uses. But doctors, in their reasonable discretion, can prescribe drugs for uses that are not FDA approved. However, drug companies are prohibited from promoting drugs for uses not approved by the FDA as “safe and effective.” The federal government determined that Allergan’s marketing of “off-label” uses resulted in illegal Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

“Whistleblowers are key to uncovering and prosecuting fraud and illegal activity against the government. Often, employees fear retaliation from employers but there are laws protecting whistleblowers from retribution,” said attorney Jay Holland, who represented Hallivis. Mr. Markovitz added, “The FDA’s approval process is completely undermined by off-label marketing. Not only are patients put at risk, but in this case, the government found that Allergan’s actions cost the government hundreds of millions in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.” 

Allergan, Inc., based in Irvine, California, will pay the federal government and numerous states a total of $600 million as part of the settlement of three False Claims Act whistleblower lawsuits. At the same time, Allergan has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge involving off-label marketing of the drugs. 

Today’s settlement covers all three whistleblower lawsuits. Holland and Markovitz praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Sally Molloy and Randy Chartash, Chief of the Economic Crime Section of the Northern District of Georgia, and their office, as well as officials and attorneys in the Department of Justice, including Edward Crooke, in reaching this result. 

Joseph, Greenwald and Laake, P.A. is a 34-lawyer firm, based in Greenbelt, Maryland, and emphasizes effective legal representation and outstanding service to clients, including whistleblower claims. For more information about Joseph, Greenwald and Laake, P.A. and whistleblower cases, see www.whistleblowers.net, and www.jgllaw.com/practice-areas/false-claims-act-qui-tam-whistleblowers.

A Prince George’s County jury on Monday awarded damages totaling more than $3 million to 13 information-technology workers who lost their jobs at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission in a 2006 restructuring.

The fired workers argued that WSSC had abolished their positions in order to hire non-merit-system employees, who could be fired at will without the statutory protections of the merit system.

“This is vindication of these employees’ rights under the merit system,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney, Timothy F. Maloney of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake P.A. in Greenbelt. “What WSSC did was a ploy to avoid giving merit system rights to its IT employees, many of whom had given decades of service to the agency. The jury was asked to find it was a subterfuge to avoid giving them merit system rights, and it was.”

After a trial that was spread out over a month in Prince George’s County Circuit Court, the jury deliberated for most of the day Monday before finding WSSC had violated the IT workers’ constitutional right not to be deprived of property – their public-sector jobs – without due process of law.

The jury, however, rejected Maloney’s other argument that WSSC had fired the workers because they were nearing retirement age and would soon qualify for costly retirement benefits.

“Obviously, we are disappointed in the verdict,” WSSC spokesman Jim Neustadt stated in an email. “We are looking at what options we have and don’t have any further comment at this time.”

If WSSC chooses to appeal, one issue it can raise is whether WSSC, as a local government commission, has absolute legislative immunity for its decision to restructure a department pursuant to Maryland’s legislative budget review process.

That issue had been presented to Maryland’s top court during an earlier phase of the litigation, after the trial court rejected WSSC’s immunity claim. The Court of Appeals found, in 2009, that the ruling on immunity was not subject to an appeal while the rest of the case was pending.

The jury’s $3.03 million award of back and front pay to the 13 workers eliminates that procedural obstacle.

“We’re going to look at our options,” said WSSC attorney Kenneth L. Thompson, of Venable LLP in Baltimore. “We’ll be filing motions accordingly.”

The workers, fired in summer 2006, filed their lawsuit Oct. 13, 2006, in Prince George’s County Circuit Court, alleging violations of Article 24 of the Maryland Constitution’s Declaration of Rights and of the state law prohibiting age discrimination in employment. They initially sought only a court order restoring them to their former merit system employment but later added claims for lost past and future wages.

On Jan. 3, 2007, WSSC moved to have the case dismissed, arguing that the commission had legislative immunity from suit. In support, WSSC argued that abolishing the workers’ jobs was accomplished via a “budgetary process spelled out by the General Assembly” and approved by the Maryland Department of Budget and Management and the councils of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

“Eliminating public-sector jobs under these circumstances constitutes legislative activity to which the doctrine of absolute legislative immunity squarely applies,” WSSC argued in its motion for dismissal.

When the circuit court denied the motion in June 2007, WSSC sought review by the Court of Special Appeals.

The intermediate court held on Sept. 4, 2007, that WSSC’s appeal was premature. The Court of Appeals agreed in an Aug. 26, 2009, opinion, permitting the fired workers’ lawsuit to proceed.

COLLEEN BOWEN ET AL. V. WASHINGTON SUBURBAN SANITARY

COMMISSION

Court: Prince George’s County Circuit Court

Case No.: CAL-06-22334

Judge: Beverly J. Woodard

Outcome: Jury verdict for plaintiffs ($3.03 million)

Dates: Event: Summer 2006.

Suit filed: Oct. 13, 2006

Trial: Nov. 12, 2013-Dec. 13, 2013.

Jury Verdict: Dec. 16, 2013.

Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: Timothy F. Maloney of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake P.A. in Greenbelt.

Defendant’s Attorneys: Todd J. Horn and Kenneth L. Thompson of Venable LLP in Baltimore.

Count: Due-process violation.     

John and Kate are recently divorced and they live in Maryland. They had three wonderful children during their marriage. Now the questions arise: should child support be paid, and if so, how much? The goal in calculating child support is to ensure that any children are impacted as little as possible by a shift from one household to two. Child support in Maryland is based on an “Income Shares” model. This means that a Court will look at the combined incomes of the parents, here John and Kate, and allocate any support to be paid out of that combined “family pot.”

For child support purposes, a parent’s “income” is defined by statute. Md. Code Ann., Fam. Law Section 12-201(b) defines actual income as:

1. “Actual income” means income from any source.
2. For income from self-employment, rent, royalties, proprietorship of a business, or joint ownership of a partnership or closely held corporation, “actual income” means gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce income.
3. “Actual income” includes: (i) salaries; (ii) wages; (iii) commissions; (iv) bonuses; (v) dividend income; (vi) pension income; (vii) interest income; (viii) trust income; (ix) annuity income; (x) Social Security benefits; (xi) workers’ compensation benefits; (xii) unemployment insurance benefits; (xiii) disability insurance benefits; (xiv) for the obligor, any third parent payment paid to or for a minor child as a result of the obligor’s disability, retirement, or other compensable claim; (xv) alimony or maintenance received; and (xvi) expense reimbursements or in-kind payments received by a parent in the course of employment, self-employment, or operation of a business to the extent the reimbursements or payments reduce the parent’s personal living expenses.
4. Based on the circumstances of the case, the court may consider the following items as actual income: (i) severance pay; (ii) capital gains; (iii) gifts; or (iv) prizes.
5. “Actual income” does not include benefits received from means-tested public assistance programs, including temporary cash assistance, Supplemental Security Income, food stamps, and transitional emergency, medical, and housing assistance. Md. Code Ann., Fam. Law Section 12-201(b).

Despite being set forth by statute, there are arguments to be made in determining a parent’s income, specifically for a determination of income from self-employment and any “discretionary” items listed in subsection (4). Of note, “gifts” can include expenses paid and support given to a parent by his or her parents, relatives and/or friends. If payment for an expense (direct) or transfer of money to a parent is consistent, dependable and there is no real expectation of repayment, the Court may include those amounts as “income” of a parent in determining child support. If one parent or the other is not working, the Court may still be able to attribute income to that parent. This can occur if the Court determines that a parent is voluntarily impoverished, it may determine the parent’s potential income. “Voluntary impoverishment” can be found when a parent makes “the free and conscious choice, not compelled by factors beyond his or her control, to render himself or herself without adequate resources.” Goldberger v. Goldberger, 96 Md. App. 313, 327, 624 A.2d 1328 (1992). Once the Court determines both parties’ respective incomes, there are two methods by which the Court may set child support: (a) by using the Maryland Child Support Guidelines, or (b) by engaging in a “needs-based” analysis.

If the combined monthly incomes of the parents is $15,000 or less, the Court presumes that the Maryland Child Support Guidelines are correct and will set an appropriate amount of support. A presumption, however, does not preclude either parent from arguing that an application of the Maryland Child Support Guidelines would be inappropriate. What goes into the Maryland Child Support Guidelines?

1. The parties’ respective gross monthly incomes (including any alimony award);
2. Any health insurance paid on behalf of the children; and
3. The allocation of time the children are with each parent.

What else can go into the Maryland Child Support Guidelines?

1. Other child support awards or alimony being paid by a parent;
2. Work-related childcare costs;
3. Extraordinary medical expenses;
4. Cash medical support; and
5. Any “other” additional expense (this can include such things as private school tuition and costs).

The Maryland Department of Human Resources has an online “calculator” which is available to anyone: http://www.dhr.state.md.us/CSOCGuide/App/disclaimer.do.

If the parents’ combined monthly income is more than $15,000, the appropriate amount of child support is within the Court’s discretion. In such situations, the Court may use an extrapolation, or extension, of the Maryland Child Support Guidelines or may engage in a “needs-based” analysis.

A “needs-based” analysis looks at the children’s actual monthly needs to determine an appropriate amount of support. This can include anything from housing, food and clothing, to private school, tutoring, and horse-back riding lessons. It is important to remember that a child’s needs may vary drastically from case to case, depending upon the standard of living the family enjoyed prior to separation.

Anne E. Grover
I work with the Family Division out of the Rockville office and handle all types of divorce, pre-nuptial agreements, custody, support, modification, contempt, domestic violence and enforcement actions. I have briefed and argued multiple appeals in the Court of Special Appeals and the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. I was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers of Maryland in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and I was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in Washington, DC in 2013.
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JGL shareholders David Bulitt and Jeffrey N. Greenblatt were included among Bethesda magazine’s list of the Top 25 Divorce Lawyers in Montgomery County.

In order to compile its list, the magazine contacted lawyers, psychologists and social workers who work in the family law field.

Bulitt, JGL’s Assistant Managing Director, “epitomizes stability and good old fashioned common sense” and easily “shifts gears form collaboration to mediation to litigation”.

Greenblatt, a longtime stalwart of the Montgomery County family bar was cited as being “passionately devoted to getting the best deal for his clients by whatever method possible”.

Both Bulitt and Greenblatt maintain their primary office in the firm’s Rockville, Maryland location and can be reached at (240) 399-7900.