Find Lawyers in Maryland, United States for Civil Rights Law
Practice Area Overview
“Discrimination” results when an individual’s, group’s, or a business or governmental entity’s preference or prejudice fosters conduct or a practice that obstructs or hinders another’s equal access or exercise of guaranteed civil rights or freedoms. Obviously, not every infringement of another’s civil rights or freedom amounts to illegal discrimination. The civil rights laws make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of one’s membership in a protected class. One may not discriminate or adversely impact another on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, or national origin. As a rule of thumb, discrimination against a protected class of citizens that interferes with the exercise of voting rights, the right to assemble, freedom of speech, religion, or association or with equal opportunities to education or housing brings civil rights laws into play.
Despite the best efforts of individuals, businesses, and governmental entities to comply with the civil rights laws, lawsuits or administrative charges occur. Such charges and lawsuits can have significant consequences.
Andy Freeman obtains justice for his clients. He has won numerous verdicts, judgments, and settlements of millions, tens of millions, and in one case over a billion dollars by mastering the relevant law and getting to know his clients, their problems, and the evidence in their cases. Other lawyers bring Andy cases that present complicated combinations of law and facts or that require making new law. After finding witnesses the defendant had failed to disclose, Andy won $7 million at trial for...
Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum takes great pride in her role as Managing Partner of Brown, Goldstein & Levy while continuing her active practice on behalf of a varied client base. Clients and colleagues alike recognize Sharon as a trusted advisor willing to share her extensive experience, knowledge of the law, passion, and sense of justice openly and freely. She strives to develop deep client-lawyer relationships that emphasize the unique voice and needs of each one of her clients. It is this com...
Andy Levy is widely regarded as one of Maryland’s premier trial and appellate lawyers, equally comfortable in civil and criminal courtrooms, before a jury, judge, or arbitrator. He is a Fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, one of the few lawyers in the country to have been inducted as a Fellow of both organizations. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America in nine categories: Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Ci...
Monica Basche joined Brown Goldstein & Levy in September 2019. She represents clients in civil rights cases, including disability rights, housing discrimination, employment discrimination, and prisoners’ rights. Monica also has experience with commercial litigation and business disputes. Prior to joining the firm, Monica was a law clerk to Judge George L. Russell, III on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and to Judge Sally D. Adkins on the Supreme Court o...
Chelsea Jones Crawford joined Brown Goldstein & Levy in September 2015 and has a growing, diverse civil rights practice, including substantial work in wrongful conviction, police misconduct, and disability rights cases. At Brown, Goldstein & Levy, Chelsea has worked on some of the largest wrongful conviction and police misconduct cases in the State of Maryland. In 2021, she obtained a $6.5 million settlement on behalf of the family of Eric Sopp, an unarmed man in distress who was shot...
Lauren DiMartino joined Brown, Goldstein & Levy to represent clients across various areas of civil rights law, including fair housing, education and disability rights, police misconduct, and workplace discrimination. Her practice also includes appeals, commercial litigation, and criminal defense. Prior to joining BGL, Lauren was in Nashville clerking for Judge Martha Craig Daughtry on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She was previously the Legal Fellow at the University of Colorado Sch...
Lauren joined Brown, Goldstein & Levy in February 2022. Before joining the firm, she served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division where she investigated and litigated against pharmaceutical companies for their role in the opioid epidemic, including work on the Purdue bankruptcy. She also has experience representing individuals and groups of plaintiffs in workplace discrimination and harassment cases as well as...
Neel Lalchandani represents individuals, nonprofits, and companies in a diverse array of civil rights and commercial matters. Among other victories for his clients, Neel has helped secure several of the largest payments in Maryland history for victims of police misconduct, including over $15 million in state compensation on behalf of innocent men imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. Neel has significant experience with complex litigation in both state and federal court as well as in arb...
Anthony J. May has represented clients in a variety of complex litigation matters including assisting employees with disabilities in obtaining accessible technology and accommodations in the workplace, representing individuals who have been wrongfully convicted, commercial litigation disputes, and fighting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. Prior to joining the firm, Anthony was the Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr. Appellate Advocacy Fellow at The Public Justice Center, where he r...
Anisha Queen joined Brown Goldstein & Levy in January 2019. Since joining the firm, she has represented clients in a wide array of civil matters. She has experience representing clients in cases involving employment law, housing discrimination, disability rights, civil rights, wrongful convictions, Title IX, and contract disputes. She has also represented clients in criminal matters, including those involving second-degree assault, weapons possession, and wire fraud. Prior to joining the ...
Jamie Strawbridge joined Brown Goldstein & Levy in February 2020. His practice includes cases involving civil rights, disability rights, housing discrimination, and commercial litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Jamie worked as an associate at Covington & Burling, where he represented clients in a wide variety of civil matters at the trial level and on appeal. Jamie has represented individuals and companies in cases involving discrimination, harassment, police misconduct, contractu...
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