6 minute read
Magistrate Brown
MAGISTRATE PHYLLIS BROWN: A 3 PART TRIBUTE By Magistrate Catherine Woods, Retired Magistrate Richard Gilbert and Sally Gold
Mag. Phyllis Brown- Colleague and Friend By Magistrate Catherine Woods
future plans to travel internationally. We bemoaned our canceled trips during the pandemic and vowed to double or triple our efforts to book trips when the world reopened. I made Phyllis promise that she would not leave the courthouse until my youngest went off to college. I have forgiven her for leaving two months shy of his send off because she is a true friend.
On behalf of all of the judges, magistrates, court clerks and court personnel, I wish Phyllis Winsome Brown all the best as she moves on to her next adventure in life. She will certainly be missed all around this courthouse.
It is with more than a touch of sadness that I write this article on the retirement of my friend and former colleague, Phyllis Brown. Before coming to the courthouse in June of 2015, I had, of course, appeared before then Master Brown in various family law matters over the years. I always found her to be a wise, straight-forward, and fair finder of fact. Throughout Magistrate Brown’s twenty-one year tenure at the courthouse, she was always highlyregarded by both the bench and the bar. She was/is very knowledgeable about the law; she understood the subtle nuances of domestic cases; and she went out of her way each day to help both self-represented litigants and counsel when the situation called for it. I enjoyed working each and every day with Phyllis. When I first arrived as a new magistrate, she made sure that I knew that she was always available if I had a question about an internal Court process, a dilemma with the procedural posture of a case or a thorny area of law. She was never too busy to listen when I had had a long full day of trial and needed to recount the highlights to ensure that I was comfortable with how I intended to decide the case.
Most significantly, however, I will miss having my good friend, Phyllis, working in the office adjoining mine. Each day (or at least each week if we were very busy), we caught each other up on our personal lives, joked, and laughed. We share a love of travel and we talked incessantly about prior adventures and
By Ret. Magistrate Richard Gilbert
On April 2, 2021, Magistrate Phyllis W. Brown officially presided over her last docket as a Family Law Magistrate for the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. Phyllis Brown celebrated her birthday two days after her last day of hearing cases, having spent 21 years serving the Circuit Court and citizens of Baltimore County. Phyllis was born in Frederick, Maryland and was raised in Dickerson, Maryland in a country setting on her family’s gentleman’s farm. As a young child she was in charge of the dogs, cats, feeding the chickens, and gathering fresh eggs in the morning. She was a member of the 4H Club, as were her siblings. Phyllis attended St. Martin’s School for grades one through eight in Gaithersburg. Phyllis attended Holton Arms for High School and graduated in 1971. After graduating from high school, Phyllis attended Dickinson College and majored in English and history with a minor in economics and graduated Magna Cum Laude. In her junior year of college, she attended the University of Lancaster in England which provided her the opportunity to visit with members of her mother’s family and afforded her time to travel throughout parts of Europe.
MAGISTRATE PHYLLIS BROWN: A 3 PART TRIBUTE By Magistrate Catherine Woods, Retired Magistrate Richard Gilbert and Sally Gold
After finishing college Phyllis was admitted to the University of Maryland Law School and graduated with high honors two and one-half years later. While attending law school Phyllis had the opportunity to work at the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and was a law clerk in the United States Attorney’s Office in Baltimore. Between taking the bar exam and being admitted to the Maryland State Bar Phyllis was able to enjoy her passion for travel and spent three months traveling around Europe once again. Phyllis was hired by the law firm of Melnicove, Kaufman and Weiner and was the first female associate there.
After a number of years, Phyllis became a partner, which is not surprising given her legal talent. Later she opened her own practice and ultimately joined forces with Andrea Kelly to form their law firm. I believe I first met Phyllis when we were on opposite sides of the Rosenberg case in the early 1980’s. She later appeared before me several times years over the years after I became a magistrate. Her skills and abilities as an advocate for her clients were exemplary. It was a privilege and an honor to have had the opportunity to work with her. We often had chambers chats about legal issues, politics, proposed legislation, and recent appellate decisions which were always enjoyable.
By Sally Gold
To the best of my recollection, Phyllis and I met in the early 80’s when she was working at Melnicove, Kaufman & Weiner. Kathleen Sweeney (the other female associate there) introduced us. Kathleen, Phyllis, and I were pregnant together and bonded. The day that Kathleen, Phyllis, and a young male associate at Melnicove were walking on Charles Street just north of Redwood and Phyllis, in the throes of miserable morning sickness, stopped on Charles Street, vomited on the street, and then kept on walking is legendary in certain circles. That nauseainducing child is now nearing 40 and the father of 3 adorable children.
At the time (and for some years thereafter), we were both Baltimore City residents and enjoyed what city living had to offer. We shared an interest in crafts -creating crafts ourselves and craft shopping, particularly enjoying attending craft fairs together. Professionally, we were both doing family law work and had opportunities to brainstorm with each other. When I underwent hip replacement surgery, I trusted Phyllis to take over my practice. She did so graciously and effectively. It was shortly after that when she accepted the Master position in Baltimore County. In between her stint at Melnicove and her Baltimore County appointment, Phyllis and Andrea Kelly, another former Melnicove associate and current family law magistrate in Baltimore City, practiced law together. Andrea would describe Phyllis as relentless in her review of financial records and ruthless in her efforts to uncover those patterns, transfers, and actions which allowed her to discover hidden accounts, suspicious spending patterns, and the inevitable check(s) to the paramour. She was an industrious worker who would always multi-task, often with some needlework in hand. In addition to being the “best law partner ever” (one in whom Andrea had total trust), Phyllis introduced Andrea to the pleasure of travel in Umbria. We all wish Phyllis the best, and we hope she enjoys travelling, spending time with grandkids, eating her chef son’s delicious creations, creating her own art work and simply spending time with her husband, Paul.
