Shadoan, Michael & Wells, LLP
108 Park Ave.
Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 762-5150
rmichael@smwlawfirm.comwww.smwlawfirm.comRobert R. Michael, is a graduate of the George Washington University School of Law, received his J.D. in 1971.
Bob is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an organization of courtroom warriors that limits its membership to 100 of the best personal injury lawyers in the nation who have demonstrated their expertise by achieving multiple million dollar awards for their clients; the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, limited to 500 Fellows in the U.S.; a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, limited to no more than 1% of the trial lawyers in each state; and a member of the select American Board of Trial Advocates. Bob has been listed since 1986 in the publication Best Lawyers in America, is listed in Washingtonian Magazine as one of Maryland's top medical malpractice lawyers; is listed in Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in the East, Who's Who in Emerging Leaders, and Who's Who in the World. He is a past president of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association; is a founder and was the first attorney president of the Montgomery County Chapter of the American Inns of Court in 1991; is a past member of the Trial Courts Nominating Commission for Montgomery County; is a past president of the Montgomery County Bar Association; and is a past president of the Montgomery County Bar Association Foundation; and is a member of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, DC. In 1999 he was one of twenty-five lawyers to receive the Montgomery County Bar Association's Century of Service Award for outstanding contributions to the legal profession and the community during the Twentieth Century. In 2004 he also received the "Trial Lawyer of the Year" award from the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Based on the particularly high level of recognition of his peers, in 2009 he was selected by the publication Best Lawyers in America (where he has been listed since 1985) as the 2010 District of Columbia "Trial Lawyer of the Year in Personal Injury Litigation"; in 2011 he was selected as the 2012 "Trial Lawyer of the Year in Product Liability"; and in 2014 he was selected as the 2015 "Trial Lawyer of the Year in Product Liability." He is also listed in the "Maryland Super Lawyers" published by Baltimore Magazine, and "Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers" published by Law & Politics. Bob is only one of two lawyers to have been simultaneously named to the "Top 10" Super Lawyers in both Washington, D.C., and Maryland. He was a member from 2003 - 2013 of the Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure. He was a founding member of the national public interest law firm, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, and is a member of the Roscoe Pound American Trial Lawyers Foundation, the Maryland State Bar Association Foundation and the American Bar Association Foundation.
Bob has been involved in several cases involving precedent-setting court decisions, including:
- a successful constitutional challenge to the compulsory Maryland medical arbitration statute, which was later reversed on appeal by the Court of Appeals (Attorney General v. Johnson, 282 Md. 294 (1978 ));
- a case expanding the Maryland law of bad faith and in which a default judgment for discovery abuse exceeding One Million Dollars was obtained against State Farm, one of the largest default judgments for discovery abuse on record (Schlossberg v. Epstein, 73 Md. App. 415 (1988), and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Schlossberg, 82 Md. App. 45 (1990)); and
- an airplane crash case holding that the choice of law doctrine permitting suits for personal injury against co-employees for injuries to Maryland employees in jurisdictions where co-employee suits are not permitted was also applicable in wrongful death cases involving Maryland employees (Powell et. al. v. Erb et. al., 349 Md. 791 (1998)).
Bob also filed amicus curiae briefs on behalf of the Maryland Trials Lawyers Association in a case dealing with jury instructions regarding the non-taxable nature of personal injury awards (Dennis v. Blanchfield, 48 Md. 325, 292 Md. 319 (1982)) and another case dealing with the interpretation of the Uniform Contribution Among Joint Tort-Feasors Act (Martinez v. Lopez, 54 Md. App. 414, 300 Md. 91 (1984)).
Bob is a prolific author and lecturer in the areas of personal injury litigation, professional negligence, and products liability litigation, including acting as the Editor of Maryland Tort Damages (Seventh Edition) and contributing to the Maryland Bar Journal, Maryland Automobile Accident Deskbook, Product Liability Law in Maryland, and Closing Argument: The Art and The Law, Clark, Boardman & Callaghan.
Bob also generously gives of his time and expertise to those in need. Bob represented, without fee, on behalf of the Trial Lawyers Care Program, the worst burn survivor of the Pentagon 9/11 attack who was featured on many national television programs including "20/20" and "60 Minutes." Bob achieved the largest award thus far from the 9/11 Victim's Compensation Fund. He was also awarded the Maryland State Bar Association Pro Bono
Service Award for his work.
He is also a multi-engine, instrument rated pilot and uses his 1975 Turbo Commander to fly wounded veterans as part of the Veterans Airlift Command.
