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Practice Areas

Professional Liability Defense; Legal Ethics; Commercial Law; Financial Institutions Law; Lender Liability; Tort Defense; Employment Law; Civil Rights

Bar/Court Admissions

1986, Maryland; 1987, U.S. District Court, District of Maryland; 1988, District of Columbia and U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit; 1990, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Education

Dickinson College, B.A., cum laude, 1983
Washington & Lee University, J.D., 1986


Organizations

Montgomery County, Maryland State and American Bar Associations; The District of Columbia Bar.
  
DEBORAH MURRELL WHELIHAN

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Partner
Email: d.whelihan@jocs-law.com
Telephone: 202-496-2810
Facsimile: 202-496-2800

1100 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20036-4117
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Practice Overview and Representative Experience:
A member of the bar since 1986, Debbie Whelihan is a litigator with significant jury trial and bench trial experience. Debbie concentrates her litigation practice in the areas of professional liability, premises liability, products liability, personal injury, employment matters, insurance coverage issues, and contract disputes. In addition to her litigation practice, Debbie has developed a successful employment and contract practice.

Since joining the firm, Debbie has defended over seventy lawyers against claims made by their former clients and other parties in addition to her defense of physicians and hospitals, her defense of real estate agents, brokers, and real estate agencies, and her defense of accountants against claims of malpractice. Debbie has successfully defended claims of serious personal injuries and death from motor vehicle accidents and has represented automobile dealers, trucking companies, and rental car companies from claims of negligence, products liability, and consumer protection violations. She has also defended several religious organizations and educational institutions against claims of sexual misconduct and claims made by former employees. As an example of a clergy malpractice claim she defended, see Borchers v. Hyrchuk, ___ A.2d ___ (Md. App. 1999)(link is to official Maryland Judicial site).

In addition to her practice before the Courts of Maryland and the District of Columbia, Debbie has represented attorneys before the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission and the District of Columbia Board of Professional Responsibility and Bar Counsel. Debbie has represented employers before the Maryland Human Relations Commission and before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.Debbie has represented physicians and hospitals before the Maryland Health Claims Arbitration Office. Prior to joining the firm as part of her real estate litigation practice, Debbie defended real estate agents, brokers, and real estate agencies before the Maryland Real Estate Commission.

Debbie has also handled a number of appeals resulting in important decisions for our professional clients. The most recent reported decision was Edwards v. Demedis, 118 Md.App. 541, 703 A.2d 240 (1997), in which the Court of Special Appeals reaffirmed that an attorney's continuing representation of clients did not toll the statute of limitations.