Walter E. Laake Jr. - Greenbelt, MD

I'm down to earth and work with my clients to resolve their problems on a one-on-one basis. I try to personally respond to clients' inquiries, and I seek to create rapport above and beyond the typical attorney-client relationship.

Walter Laake is a founding member of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake. A preeminent personal injury lawyer with more than four decades of experience, Walter has obtained millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for injured clients. Among his recent victories, Walter obtained a $1-million recovery on behalf of a disabled father of four in a medical malpractice action, and a $4.5-million settlement with a D.C. hospital for the family of an infant who suffered brain injury due to a doctor's negligence. Throughout his career, Walter's work has established many important legal principles that protect the rights of injured people. For example, in the 1970s, Walter litigated the first case in Maryland that applied strict liability to a product liability case.

When Walter first meets new clients, though, he doesn't talk about the law or his many accomplishments as an attorney. Rather, he enjoys talking to his clients about where they grew up and went to high school. He takes a genuine interest in knowing the people he represents on a human level and breaking down the barrier between lawyer and client.

Walter has deep ties to the Washington, D.C., area and legal community. A resident of the metropolitan area since elementary school, he worked at Griffith Stadium while he was a high school student so he could see all the Redskins games for free. He attended the University of Maryland as an undergrad and for law school, and describes himself as a "continually depressed" Terrapins football fan. Walter has served as president of the Maryland Association for Justice (formerly the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association).