Daniel S. Katz

As a result of his diverse experience, Dan is able to avoid the "tunnel vision" that often results from representing only one type of client.

Dan is a partner in the firm's litigation department and has nearly 40 years of experience representing a broad spectrum of clients in civil litigation matters.  He concentrates his practice in medical malpractice defense, personal injury defense, and estate and trust litigation.  He also represents defendants and plaintiffs in general commercial litigation, including derivative and class action suits in the financial, real estate, and technology sectors.  His clients have included hospitals, physicians, physician practices, automobile dealers, landlords, tenants, insurers, insurance brokers, employers, employees, contractors, suppliers, and owners of commercial real estate. 

As a result of his diverse experience, Dan is able to avoid the “tunnel vision” that often results from representing only one type of client.  He is an advocate whose professionalism earns him the respect of his adversaries and has thus proven invaluable to his clients throughout his many years of practice.

He has tried or arbitrated:

  • A week-long medical malpractice trial that resulted in a defense verdict, after the jury deliberated for only one hour;
  • Medical malpractice cases on behalf of Maryland hospitals, physician practices, HMOs, and insurers;
  • Tort cases, including those involving catastrophic injury or death;
  • Wrongful discharge and discrimination cases;
  • Commercial and real estate cases;
  • Construction cases;
  • Estate and trust disputes; and
  • Complex financial issues in family law cases.

His representation of health care clients is also diverse.  In addition to the litigation matters, he prepares resident agreements for retirement communities and represents health care clients in administrative proceedings before state agencies.

Dan is an experienced appellate lawyer.  He has argued successfully on behalf of clients in the Maryland Court of Appeals, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 

In addition to his medical and commercial litigation practice, he represents individuals in complex estate and trust disputes and in family law matters.  While administration of an estate or trust typically goes smoothly and without conflict, from time to time disputes result from ineffective drafting, hurt feelings, and seemingly unfair dispositions of property. When that occurs, and litigation results, he is skilled in navigating through the litigation process to get the best results that he can in a cost-effective manner. His estate and trust litigation practice includes filing and defending caveats (challenges to wills), modifications of trusts, challenges to joint bank accounts, and disputes involving the interpretation of wills and trusts.   

Dan has successfully represented clients in these estate and trust disputes:

  • Represented a trust beneficiary in trial against another beneficiary in a dispute involving the division or sale of the trust property;
  • Litigated cases under new Maryland law permitting modification of irrevocable trusts;
  • Resolved numerous disputes between estate beneficiaries over dispositions in will; and
  • Resolved numerous disputes between family members over dispositions of property by gifts and by creation of joint accounts.

He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Baltimore Hebrew University, now a part of Towson University, from 2005 through 2009.  He chaired the Young Lawyers Section of the Bar Association of Baltimore City from 1991 to 1992.

In 2011, Maryland Super Lawyers Magazine first named him as one of the top attorneys in Maryland for his general litigation and medical malpractice-defense practices.  Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers.  The selections are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters, Legal Division.

He is AV® Peer Review Rated – the highest possible peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell.  He also has the distinction of being the first five-time “Jeopardy!” champion from the Baltimore area.

Attorney Profile
Education
  • University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (J.D., with honors, 1980)
  • University of Maryland (B.S., 1977)
Bar Admissions
  • State of Maryland
  • District of Columbia
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court
Activities
  • Meritas, Law Firms Worldwide, Alternate Member Contact
  • Maryland State Bar Association
  • District of Columbia Bar
  • Beth El Congregation, Board of Trustees
  • Co-Presenter, "Preventive Care for your Facility: Avoiding the Malpractice Trap," HFAM annual conference, 2021
  • Co-Presenter, "Charting for the Jury: Improving Documentation & Quality Care," The Beacon Institute webinar, May 2020
  • Bar Association of Baltimore City, chair of Young Lawyers Section, 1991-1992
  • Maryland Super Lawyers, 2009-2016
  • Baltimore Hebrew University, Board of Trustees, 2005-2009
  • First five-time "Jeopardy!" champion from Baltimore area