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Eight Miller, Miller & Canby Attorneys Recognized as Best Lawyers in America® for 2024

Posted August 22, 2023 at 12:27 PM

Eminent Domain and Condemnation, Land Development, Litigation, Maryland Property Tax News, MM&C Happenings, News & Events, Press, Real Estate

Miller, Miller & Canby is pleased to announce eight firm attorneys have been recognized as Best Lawyers in America.® for 2024. Joseph (Joe) Suntum, Joel (Jody) Kline, Donna McBride, Michael Campbell, Robert Gough, Diane Feuerherd and Taggart Hutchinson have been recognized in their respective areas of practice and Alexandra Mussler has been recognized to the Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” list, an honor for attorneys who are early in their careers, typically in practice nine years or less.

Joe Suntum is the leader of the Eminent Domain and Condemnation group at MM&C. His decades of trial experience and in-depth knowledge of real property valuation and the law of eminent domain allow him to protect his clients’ property rights and maximize compensation when their properties are targeted for condemnation. He is a member of the Owners’ Counsel of America for the state of Maryland, a selective membership restricted to only one attorney per state. The firm’s Eminent Domain practice has been honored as a Best Law Firms Metropolitan “Tier 1” practice for the last four years.  In 2023, he was recognized as the Best Lawyers® 2023 Eminent Domain and Condemnation “Lawyer of the Year” for the Washington metropolitan region.

Jody Kline has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America every year since 2007.  He joined Miller, Miller & Canby in 1974, has been a principal of the firm since 1981 and has served as head of the firm’s Land Use & Zoning practice since that time. His practice concentrates on land use, zoning and subdivision law, representing private clients, nonprofit entities, and municipal corporations and agencies. He is active in a variety of community organizations, serving on numerous boards, and also serves as President of the Lambda Alpha International global land economics society’s George Washington Chapter.

Donna McBride is a partner in Miller, Miller & Canby’s Litigation department, where she focuses on complex business matters for corporate clients, as well as insurance-related litigation and trust litigation. In 2019 she was admitted to the American College of Trial Lawyers as a Fellow, an honor reserved for experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards. In 2023, she was recognized as Litigator of the Year at the MSBA Litigation Section Awards Dinner. She is active in the legal community and has held numerous leadership roles for the Maryland State Bar Association, the Montgomery County Bar Foundation and the Bar Association of Montgomery County.

Michael Campbell is the firm’s Managing Partner, and focuses his practice on disputes involving real estate, construction projects and commercial leases in state and federal courts in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia and before arbitrators. Now in his third decade at the firm, he has tried more than 100 cases before judges, juries and arbitrators and has resolved many others through mediation and private resolution with opposing counsel. He has also developed an expertise in property tax appeals for commercial and high-value residential properties in Maryland, successfully reducing assessments for clients on shopping centers, office buildings, big box stores, medical buildings, golf courses, assisted living facilities, and apartment complexes.

Robert Gough leads the firm’s Real Estate department and focuses his practice in commercial real estate transactions and leasing, land development, commercial and residential closings, and related litigation. With more than three decades of experience, he represents developers, institutions and individuals in the acquisition and disposition of real property, ranging from complex commercial real estate development transactions, to advising clients with existing real estate holdings on development and ownership options, to assisting individuals purchasing residential property or in transferring ownership for estate planning purposes. Miller, Miller & Canby is an agent of Fidelity National Title Insurance Company and Mr. Gough oversees and conducts closings for clients’ commercial real estate and loan transactions.

Diane Feuerherd is Chair of Miller, Miller & Canby’s Litigation practice. An appellate and trial attorney, she focuses on business, estate, real estate and eminent domain litigation in the Maryland state and federal courts. She has successfully represented individuals, property owners, and businesses in a wide variety of matters, ranging from administrative hearings before the Board of Appeals, to jury and bench trials in state and federal courts, and to appeals before the Court of Special Appeals and Court of Appeals.  Outside of the courtroom, she is dedicated to serving and improving the legal profession, at the local, state and national level. She serves on the MSBA’s Judicial Appointments Committee, is Secretary and Board Member for the Maryland Bar Foundation, Barrister of the Montgomery County Inns of Court, and serves on both the Executive Committee and Judicial Selections Committee of the Bar Association of Montgomery County. She is also the Blog Manager of the Maryland Appellate Blog.

Taggart (Tagg) Hutchinson is a Principal in Miller, Miller & Canby’s Real Estate practice, focusing on commercial real estate transactions, financings, and settlement services and related litigation, as well as property tax appeals and land development matters. He represents local developers and institutions in commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, sales and financings, land development and ownership options, title review, title insurance and settlements. Tagg has experience in a wide range of government and business sectors including government contracts, State and local taxes, State and local grants and development funding, transportation, zoning and permitting, software and technology, the Maryland Public Service Commission, and legal advocacy on behalf of national associations.

Newly-named to the Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” list, Alexandra Mussler is an associate in the Litigation practice group with a focus on business and commercial litigation, real estate and construction litigation, eminent domain and condemnation, trust litigation, adult guardianship, and personal injury and insurance litigation. She serves on the Executive Committee and is the New Practitioner Section Co-Chair for the Bar Association of Montgomery County, and is a BAMC Leadership Academy Fellow.

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. More than 116,000 industry-leading lawyers are eligible to vote; for the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® more than 12.2 million votes were recorded and analyzed to determine the final recognitions.

About Miller, Miller & Canby
For more than 75 years, Miller, Miller & Canby has served the legal needs of metropolitan Washington, DC. As one of the oldest law firms in Montgomery County, MD, the firm recognizes that this milestone reflects the relationships built and maintained with our clients, friends and the business community, many spanning multiple generations. The firm maintains its focus on its core areas of practice: Land Use & Zoning, Real Estate, Litigation, Eminent Domain, Business & Tax, Employment and Estates and Trusts Law. The firm’s size allows its attorneys to maintain close contact with clients and have the opportunity to develop and foster trusted, lasting relationships. In all of our practice areas, an overarching concern for quality of product and efficiency of accomplishment assures clients that we strive for true value in legal representation. Miller, Miller & Canby is proud to have maintained this standard of service since the firm’s founding in 1946.

Click download attachment to view the formal press release.

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