Legal Lion, Community Leader, and MBF President

THOMAS E. (TOM) LYNCH, III

Principal, Miles & Stockbridge P.C.

Thomas E. Lynch, III is a Principal at Miles & Stockbridge, P.C., and focuses his practice on Commercial, Business and Real Estate Litigation; ADR; Business Advisory; and Association and Non-profit representation. Mr. Lynch works primarily in his firm’s Frederick County office, where he is heavily invested in the community serving in various leadership capacities on local boards including serving as immediate past Chair and a member of the Executive Committee of the Community Foundation of Frederick County. In addition to his work in Frederick County, Mr. Lynch has been dedicated to other charitable work, including his work with Maryland Bar Foundation, assuming the role as President of the Maryland Bar Foundation in 2019.

WE SAT DOWN with Mr. Lynch to learn a little more about his legal career, his goals for the Maryland Bar Foundation, and the man behind it all.

In your own words, summarize your legal career.

My legal career really breaks down into two phases: a) Between 1977 and early 1988 in large offices of Venable (then known as Venable, Baetjer and Howard) and thereafter Miles & Stockbridge in Baltimore. My practice involved a broad range of litigation matters, including emergency practice and environmental litigation and advisory work for large corporate clients; and b) Moving to Frederick in March of 1988 to assist in the integration of our new Frederick office into the Miles & Stockbridge family. My practice in Frederick has been highly diversified and includes litigation, business counseling and advisory work, association and non-profit representation and ADR with an emphasis on mediation.

How did you transition to your current role?

The move to Frederick in 1988 was life changing for me in so many ways not the least of which was to retool and develop a new practice in a new community. At first, I was not sure if I would be accepted here because, initially, I believe I was viewed as a big firm, city lawyer coming into an established historic practice in Frederick. In time, however, as I became more involved in the local bar and community, I learned that Frederick is an amazingly accepting and giving community if you become part of and contribute to the community. Frederick is now my home and I

I applied to law school in the perspective that being a lawyer offered a wide range of possible career paths and, in addition, the capacity to make a difference in people’s lives.

would not live anywhere else. It has been immensely rewarding to serve the bar and on various non-profit Boards and to be part of making a real difference in this community, one of my primary objectives in accepting the challenge of coming in the first instance.

What is the biggest challenge you are facing in your career right now?

Having been involved intensively in the practice of law for 43 years, I am now actively involved in formulating what the next stage of my life will look like as I transition from full-time practice to a reduced schedule while involving my younger colleagues more and more in serving and taking responsibility for clients that I have served for many years. What I view as being an ideal outcome would involve an effective transition from an intensive life as a successful lawyer to a life of even greater significance in terms of community involvement and service. That transition is well under way with my involvement with the Bar Foundation, the Community Foundation here in Frederick, serving on the Board of Trustees of our Community College and involvement with various other professional and non-profit organizations. Suffice to say that I consider myself a “work in progress” with, thankfully, the health and energy to take on new challenges. Whatever my new life looks like, I do expect to continue mediating because I love being part of the problem solving that brings combatting parties to a resolution of controversy.

What I view as being an ideal outcome would involve an effective transition from an intensive life as a successful lawyer to a life of even greater significance in terms of community involvement and service.

Why is the work of the Maryland Bar Foundation important?

The Foundation, first and foremost, is a philanthropic organization that provides grants each year to organizations involved in educating lawyers and judges, providing assistance to those in need to ensure equal and fair access to justice and a host of other causes of importance related to the law and the courts. The Foundation also makes annual awards to lawyers and judges who have distinguished themselves in some remarkable way warranting recognition in the eyes of their peers. We also bring together, through our Fellows program, lawyers and judges from throughout the State who have been nominated for that status due to their contributions to their profession and the communities they serve. I am proud to be a Fellow in the Foundation and be able to contribute financially and with my time to the important causes the Foundation promotes.

What are your goals as President of the Maryland Bar Foundation?

I accepted the position as President of the Foundation with the expressed aspiration of leading the Foundation to grow the numbers of Fellows and to grow its assets so as to be in an even better position to provide enhanced financial support to organizations such as MVLS, Legal Aid and others whose mission is to provide legal representation to individuals who cannot afford legal counsel. To preserve the respect of our citizens for the Rule of Law, we need to ensure every citizen, regardless of his or her race, gender, financial or other circumstances, is afforded equal access to justice. The Foundation needs to play a critical role, with other financial support groups, to make available the resources to achieve what needs to be a fundamental objective for everyone involved in the legal process. The Foundation is now embarking on strategic planning to understand how it can expand its capabilities to provide the financial support so desperately needed by the service providers for those in need. The Foundation stands solidly in support of our brothers and sisters in the Black community and their need to be heard and we join them in seeking justice and change. We, the Foundation, see ourselves as an important piece of the puzzle that needs to be assembled, and quickly, to make equal justice for all a reality.

We, the Foundation, see ourselves as an important piece of the puzzle that needs to be assembled, and quickly, to make equal justice for all a reality.

What do you do for fun to unwind?

For 30 years, I have been somewhat of an exercise fanatic -- I find that exercise helps clear my head and keeps me active, energized and sharp. My exercise of choice these days is long distance road biking and there perhaps is no better place almost anywhere than Frederick County to get the mix of incredible beauty, hills, history and a large sociable biking community.

What’s an interesting fact about you that no one would guess?

That I am an avid fan of music videos with a special emphasis on country music videos (they tell such amazing life stories of loves won, loves lost and so many other life lessons).