Donald L. DeVries Jr.
One South Street, 20th Floor Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Firm:
Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann, LLP
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Overview
Mr. DeVries has tried well over 100 cases to verdict. Since he and his partners established Goodell DeVries in 1988, he has built an award-winning regional medical malpractice defense litigation practice and is known for successfully representing many notable clients in trial and appellate courts.
According to clients quoted in The Best Lawyers of America, Mr. DeVries is “a giant among his peers” and “uses his vast experience to recommend thoughtful defense strategies, has the respect of the plaintiff’s bar, and utilizes his many relationships to obtain successful outcomes on cases.” Further, “[Mr. DeVries’] quiet yet strong manner provides clients great comfort and his adversaries great concern. His ethics are unassailable and his competence is unquestionable. When I have a matter that requires great legal skill coupled with common sense and intellect, Don is my lawyer of first choice.” As described by Chambers USA, a leading guide to the legal industry, he is a “superb lawyer” who is “top of the heap in medical malpractice and products liability defense in Maryland.” Being recognized as a leader by his peers, Mr. DeVries was honored as a recipient of The Daily Record's Leadership in Law Award (2006). He has consecutively been honored by The Best Lawyers in America every year since 1995. Mr. DeVries also has been a top-two placement among the Top 10 attorneys in Maryland since 2007 as voted by his peers and announced by Maryland Super Lawyer magazine.
In 2005, Mr. DeVries was inducted into the prestigious International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an honor society that is limited to 500 of the best trial lawyers in the United States. Mr. DeVries is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, which comprises the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada and is widely considered to be the premier professional trial organization in America. Mr. DeVries has been an Advocate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) since 1984. He represented Maryland as a member of the National Board of Directors of ABOTA from 1995 - 2010 and also served as President of the ABOTA Maryland Chapter from 1992 - 1995.
Mr. DeVries has been extremely active in the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), having served as a member of the nine-member Board of Directors that governs the 2300-member organization. He previously chaired its Medical Malpractice Committee, served as a faculty member in its National Trial Academy, and has been a speaker in several of its programs. Since 1988, Mr. DeVries has also been a member of the International Society of Barristers (ISB) and presently serves as the Membership Chair for the ISB's Maryland Chapter.
In addition to his activities as a lawyer, Mr. DeVries has been extremely active in community affairs. In 1993, as a result of his familiarity with Maryland’s Emergency Medical System (EMS) through his service on the Shock Trauma Board, he was appointed by Governor Schaefer as the first Chairman of the EMS Board governing Maryland’s entire emergency medical system, a position that he still holds, having been subsequently reappointed as Chairman by Governors Glendening, Ehrlich, and O’Malley. The Board plays a pivotal role in ensuring EMS services to the citizens of Maryland. The EMS consists of nine trauma centers, specialty referral centers for burns and hand trauma, 49 emergency rooms, 11 Maryland State Police helicopters, 500 ambulances, and over 30,000 pre-hospital providers.
According to clients quoted in The Best Lawyers of America, Mr. DeVries is “a giant among his peers” and “uses his vast experience to recommend thoughtful defense strategies, has the respect of the plaintiff’s bar, and utilizes his many relationships to obtain successful outcomes on cases.” Further, “[Mr. DeVries’] quiet yet strong manner provides clients great comfort and his adversaries great concern. His ethics are unassailable and his competence is unquestionable. When I have a matter that requires great legal skill coupled with common sense and intellect, Don is my lawyer of first choice.” As described by Chambers USA, a leading guide to the legal industry, he is a “superb lawyer” who is “top of the heap in medical malpractice and products liability defense in Maryland.” Being recognized as a leader by his peers, Mr. DeVries was honored as a recipient of The Daily Record's Leadership in Law Award (2006). He has consecutively been honored by The Best Lawyers in America every year since 1995. Mr. DeVries also has been a top-two placement among the Top 10 attorneys in Maryland since 2007 as voted by his peers and announced by Maryland Super Lawyer magazine.
In 2005, Mr. DeVries was inducted into the prestigious International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an honor society that is limited to 500 of the best trial lawyers in the United States. Mr. DeVries is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, which comprises the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada and is widely considered to be the premier professional trial organization in America. Mr. DeVries has been an Advocate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) since 1984. He represented Maryland as a member of the National Board of Directors of ABOTA from 1995 - 2010 and also served as President of the ABOTA Maryland Chapter from 1992 - 1995.
Mr. DeVries has been extremely active in the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), having served as a member of the nine-member Board of Directors that governs the 2300-member organization. He previously chaired its Medical Malpractice Committee, served as a faculty member in its National Trial Academy, and has been a speaker in several of its programs. Since 1988, Mr. DeVries has also been a member of the International Society of Barristers (ISB) and presently serves as the Membership Chair for the ISB's Maryland Chapter.
In addition to his activities as a lawyer, Mr. DeVries has been extremely active in community affairs. In 1993, as a result of his familiarity with Maryland’s Emergency Medical System (EMS) through his service on the Shock Trauma Board, he was appointed by Governor Schaefer as the first Chairman of the EMS Board governing Maryland’s entire emergency medical system, a position that he still holds, having been subsequently reappointed as Chairman by Governors Glendening, Ehrlich, and O’Malley. The Board plays a pivotal role in ensuring EMS services to the citizens of Maryland. The EMS consists of nine trauma centers, specialty referral centers for burns and hand trauma, 49 emergency rooms, 11 Maryland State Police helicopters, 500 ambulances, and over 30,000 pre-hospital providers.
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Awards
Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, Baltimore (2013)
Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants, Baltimore (2012)
- Best Lawyers in America – Medical Malpractice Law (1995 - 2013)
- Best Lawyers in America - Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (2012 - 2013)
- Best Lawyers in America - "Lawyer of the Year" Award for Baltimore Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants (2012)
- Best Lawyers in America - "Lawyer of the Year" Award for Baltimore Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (2013)
- Chambers USA, Health Care – Medical Malpractice (2007 - 2012)
- Maryland Super Lawyers, Second Top Point Getter (2010 - 2011), Top 10 Super Lawyer (2007 - 2013)
- The Daily Record - Leadership in Law Award (2006)
- Recipient of the Maryland Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians' EMS Provider of the Year Award (2006)
- Oxford's Who's Who Registry of Extraordinary Professionals, 1993
- Marquis Who's Who in American Law
- Marquis Who’s Who in America
- Marquis Who’s Who in Finance and Business
- George W. Yancey Memorial Award from the International Association of Defense Counsel for the most outstanding contribution to the Defense Counsel Journal with the article "Back to the Future? Product Liability Class Actions and Proposed Rule 23 Changes"
Languages
English
Education
University of Maryland, J.D.
Graduated 1973
Dartmouth College, B.A.
Graduated 1969
Contact Details and Office Locations
Office: (410) 783-4000
One South Street, 20th Floor
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
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