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Seven Miller, Miller & Canby Attorneys Selected for 2022 Best Lawyers in America®

Posted August 19, 2021 at 8:43 PM

Eminent Domain and Condemnation, Land Development, Litigation, MM&C Happenings, News & Events, Press

Miller, Miller & Canby’s James Thompson, Joel (Jody) Kline, Joseph Suntum, Soo Lee-Cho, Donna McBride and Michael Campbell have been named Best Lawyers for the 2022 edition of Best Lawyers in America.®  Additionally, Diane Feuerherd has been named on the “Ones to Watch” list for Best Lawyers, recognizing attorneys who have been in private practice less than nine years.  Thompson and Suntum were recognized for Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law; Kline and Lee-Cho for Land Use and Zoning Law; and Campbell, McBride and Feuerherd for Litigation.

Jim Thompson has been a leader in Miller, Miller & Canby’s Litigation Group for more than 35 years, concentrating his practice in eminent domain, property tax assessment appeals and general civil litigation. He has served in numerous leadership roles within the legal community in Maryland, including President of the Maryland State Bar Association. He has been recognized on the Best Lawyers list every year since 2007, with 2022 marking the 15th consecutive year.

Jody Kline has led Miller, Miller & Canby’s Land Development department since 1981, focusing his practice in land use, zoning and subdivision law and representing clients in many of Montgomery County’s planning and economic development initiatives. In addition to zoning and subdivision law, he represents clients in matters related to master planning, zoning text amendments, conditional use permits, building permit issuance, and other administrative and real estate matters related to land use and development. His clients include residential and commercial developers, private individuals, religious institutions, private schools, non-profit entities and municipal corporations and agencies. He has also been recognized on the Best Lawyers list since 2007.

Joseph Suntum is the firm’s Eminent Domain/Condemnation Group Leader. His decades of trial experience and his in-depth knowledge of real property valuation and the law of eminent domain allow him to protect his clients’ property rights and maximize their compensation when their properties are targeted for condemnation. He is the current Owners’ Counsel of America member attorney for the State of Maryland and Chair of its Board of Directors.  The Owners’ Counsel of America is a national association of property rights attorneys with demonstrated excellence in this area, focusing upon the representation of landowners in eminent domain litigation. In addition to eminent domain cases, he accepts select commercial litigation matters requiring advanced strategic and trial skills.

Soo Lee-Cho is Co-Chair of the Land Development Practice Group. Her practice includes land use, zoning law, real estate development and administrative law. Her career spans nearly 25 years in land development, including the successful representation of clients from multiple sectors including multi-family, senior housing/assisted living, affordable housing developers, real estate investment trusts, retailers, commercial and industrial landowners, and private educational institutions, among others.

Donna McBride has been a member of Miller, Miller & Canby’s Litigation Group since 2004.  A seasoned trial attorney, she has successfully litigated hundreds of cases. With a diverse litigation practice, she has assisted both businesses and individuals involved in disputes arising out of contracts, insurance, employment and estate and trust matters. In addition to her background as a trial lawyer, she holds leadership positions in numerous legal organizations and committees including the Standing Committee of Rules of Practice and Procedure, Trial Court’s Judicial Nominating Commission, Maryland State Bar Association, Montgomery County Bar Association and, and is the current President of the Montgomery Inn of Court. She is also a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. Fellowship is by invitation only to those lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards. Membership cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province.

Michael Campbell chairs the Litigation Practice Group, 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 with Miller, Miller & Canby, he has tried more than 100 cases before judges, juries, and arbitrators. He has developed an expertise in property tax appeals for commercial and high-value residential properties in Maryland, regularly appealing property values to county assessment offices, Property Tax Assessment Appeals Boards and the Maryland Tax Court.

Diane Feuerherd is an appellate and trial attorney focusing on business, real estate and eminent domain litigation in the Maryland state and federal courts. She reached the rare benchmark of successfully advocating cases, including jury and bench trials, at each level of the Maryland State Courts (District Court, Circuit Court, Court of Special Appeals and Court of Appeals) in just her first two years of practice. In addition to her robust appellate practice, she serves as the Manager for the Maryland State Bar Association’s Maryland Appellate Blog and is a contributing author to Appellate Practice for the Maryland Lawyer: State and Federal.

Best Lawyers in America bases recognition in its annual listings entirely on peer review. For 40 years, the organization has assisted those in need of legal services to identify the attorneys best qualified to represent them across hundreds of areas of practice.

Best Lawyers publishes a stand-alone publication that announces recognized attorneys. Best Lawyers lists are also published in local, regional, and national print and digital versions of leading publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the Washington Post.

About Miller, Miller & Canby
In 2021, Miller, Miller & Canby celebrates 75 years of serving the legal needs of metropolitan Washington, DC. As the oldest law firm 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 core areas of practice: Land Use & Zoning, Real Estate, Litigation, Business Transactions & Tax, Eminent Domain 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. For more information, visit www.millermillercanby.com.

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