Attorney Bios

Joseph P. Suntum is  a principal in the litigation department. Mr. Suntum handles a wide variety of substantive areas of litigation including, eminent domain and condemnation, complex business litigation, and appellate advocacy.

Mr. Suntum is a rare trial lawyer who has successfully tried both murder cases and multi million dollar civil actions. He has also successfully argued numerous appeals before the Maryland courts of appeal. Mr. Suntum was listed by Super Lawyers magazine in 2007 as one of the top 5% of Maryland litigation attorneys. www.SuperLawyers.com.

Quality legal representation requires the trial advocate not only to apply exceptional analytical and trial advocacy skills to the case, but also be able to use the latest courtroom technology (2) and coordinate the many resources of the client, witnesses, and expert consultants into a cohesive and ultimately persuasive team. Mr. Suntum uses all available tools in pursuit of a successful result for his clients as efficiently and economically as the case permits.

In addition to complex business litigation, Mr. Suntum focuses his trial practice on real estate disputes, most particularly eminent domain and condemnation. The trial of condemnation actions requires full knowledge of the substantive issues concerning land valuation, as well as the unique procedural rules applicable to such matters. Mr. Suntum’s knowledge in this area permits him to work effectively with experts such as appraisers, land planners, brokers, developers and others to maximize the compensation paid to his clients for property taken by governmental agencies.

ILLUSTRATIVE CASES
A sampling of the variety of cases Mr. Suntum has successfully tried include: eminent domain and condemnation (achieving inquisitions (2) far surpassing the government offers); shareholder derivative action ($6,326,250 judgment for fraud against corporate President); commercial contract (holding anchor tenant in shopping center responsible for millions of dollars of damages resulting from breach of lease – Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Rockville Pike Joint Venture Limited Partnership, 376 Md. 331 (2003)); Will caveat (recovering nearly $2,000,000 in estate assets for children of decedent); breach of fiduciary duty by parent of disabled child (Buxton v Buxton, 363 Md. 634 (2001)); breach of contract for sale of business (obtaining $850,000 judgment by consent after winning partial summary judgment motion on critical factual issue); enforcement of settlement agreement (Golub v. Cohen, 138 Md. App. 508 (2001)); specific enforcement of partnership agreement; constitutional right to privacy (Schochet v. State, 320 Md. 714 (1990)); defamation; real estate related actions (extinguish covenants, enforce contracts, adverse possession), numerous felony criminal trials and death penalty post-conviction litigation (State v. Calhoun, 306 Md. 692, 511 A2d. 461 (1986); State v. Tichnell, 306 Md. 428, 509 A2d. 1179 (1986) Mr. Suntum brings the full breadth and depth of his experience to every case he handles.

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION
Mr. Suntum joined the firm in 1988, and has been a principal in the firm since 1994. He  served as managing partner of the Firm from 1997 to 2008. Before joining Miller, Miller & Canby he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Elsbeth Levy Bothe in Circuit Court for Baltimore City, and served as an Assistant Public Defender for Montgomery County for four years where he first earned his reputation as an outstanding trial advocate. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland in 1982. His undergraduate studies were at the University of Maryland, Bachelor of Arts, Government and Politics, 1979, and the University of Montana, Major Wildlife Biology, 1975 1977. Mr. Suntum graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1975.

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Mr. Suntum is admitted to practice in all State and Federal courts in Maryland. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Maryland Bar Association, and the Bar Association of Montgomery County (Secretary, 1995 1996; Executive Committee 1997 1999). Mr. Suntum lectures regularly on litigation and eminent domain and condemnation topics for Lorman Educational Services, the American Law Institute, the American Bar Association (2) (www.ali-aba.org) and the Bar Association for Montgomery County. He has served on the Character Committee of the Court of Appeals of Maryland (1992-1997). He served on the Board of Directors of Montgomery General Hospital (2003 to 2009) and the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Bar Association of Montgomery County (2005 to 2009).