Practice Areas
Michael Paul Smith
In 2010, Michael Paul Smith, along with 5 attorneys from his prior firm, left and merged their practices with Gildea & Schmidt, LLC. These combined firms formed what is known today as Smith, Gildea & Schmidt, LLC, a firm with a national practice with a close connection to the Baltimore Metropolitan region. Michael Paul is the managing partner for the litigation and corporate groups. His practice concentrates on class actions, complex civil litigation including personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, business litigation and estates and trust. He also has numerous business clients to whom he provides advice and is a key member of their team. These business clients value his litigation experience combined with his understanding of economics and business
Calvert Hall College (1984)
Bridgewater College BS, Business/Economics (1988)
University of Baltimore Law School (1992)
Court of Appeals of Maryland (1992)
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (2002)
In addition to his current membership in the Maryland Association for Justice, Michael Paul is the chair of the Baltimore County Judicial Selection Committee, and past chair of the Bench/Bar, Entertainment, and Law Day Committees of the Baltimore County Bar Association. He has been Past President of the Dissenters Law Club.
Michael Paul Smith has successfully obtained over $100 million of dollars in settlements and jury awards in his litigation career.
For well over a decade, his peers, opposing counsel, and the judges before whom he has appeared have rated Michael Paul with the highest reviews obtainable by an attorney for his abilities in the following categories:
Legal Knowledge – Lawyer’s familiarity with the laws governing his/her specific area of practice(s)
Analytical Capabilities – Lawyer’s creativity in analyzing legal issues and applying technical knowledge
Judgment – The lawyer’s demonstration of the salient factors that drive the outcome of a given case or issue
Communication Ability – Lawyer’s capability to communicate persuasively and credibly
Legal Experience – Lawyer’s degree of experience in his/her specific area of practice(s)
He earned an AV Preeminent (with 5.0 out of 5.0) rating with Martindale Hubble, America’s leader in Peer Review Ratings. He also has been recognized as a Legal Elite by Smart CEO magazine.
Outside of his law practice, Michael Paul is active in several charitable and community organizations. He has served in various leadership roles in the Baltimore County Bar Association, the Dissenter’s Law Club, the Maryland Catholic Conference, the Martin J. Smith Foundation, and Best Buddies. In 2006, he served as the Co-Chair of the Governor’s transition team for Environmental Matters.
Michael Paul has been instrumental in numerous political campaigns. He successfully managed and/or was a close advisor to a number of political campaigns including Baltimore County Executives, Baltimore County Councilpersons, and Delegates. He also has been a key adviser to every Sitting Judges campaign in Baltimore County since 2001.
Lead Counsel in dozens of Class Actions involving the financial services industry resulting in tens of millions of dollars in benefits to consumers who had been harmed. Representative samples include Dobbins v. Bank of Am., N.A., Case No. SAG-17-0540, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 156315 (D. Md. Aug. 28, 2020); James v. Acre Mortg. & Fin., Inc., Case No. SAG-17-1734, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96633 (D. Md. June 2, 2020); Edmondson v. Eagle Nat’l Bank, Case No. SAG-16-3938, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89690 (D. Md. May 21, 2020); Fangman v. Genuine Title, LLC, Case No. 1:14-cv-00081-RDB, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154582 (D. Md. Nov. 8, 2016); Frank A. v. Emery Fed. Credit Union, No. 1:15-cv-792, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127022 (S.D. Ohio Aug. 10, 2017). Fangman v. Genuine Title, LLC, Case No. 1:14-cv-00081-RDB, ECF Dckt. No.: 251 (Wells Fargo Bank N.A.); 286 (JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A.); 431 (Net Equity); 435 (PNC Bank N.A.); and 486 (MetLife); Perzinski v. Competitive Title Agency, Inc., Case No. 1:18-cv-01511-TJS, ECF Dckt. No.: 86; Conover v. Patriot Land Transfer, LLC, Case No. 1:17-cv-04625-RMB-JS, ECF Dckt. No.: 112.
Medical Malpractice cases involving birth injuries, misdiagnoses, inadequate staffing, and countless other acts of medical negligence. Representative samples include Thiess v. PowerBack Rehabilitation, C-03-CV-19-001903, M.D.Possidente v. GBMC, 03-C-10-003295, Shaneybrook, et. al. v. Maryland Family Care, Inc., C-03-CV-20-003197, D’Alessio, et. al. v. Park, et. al. 03-C-12-CV-20-000259, Starrett, et. al. v. Robert F. Friedman, et. al., 06-C-17-074407, Fluharty v. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, et. al, 24-C-18006327
Business litigation including stockholder and member disputes, covenants not to compete, stockholder derivative actions, trade secret theft and numerous other types of business cases. Representative samples include Webb-Mason, Inc. v. Ironmark, et al.; C-13-CV-19-000973, Mosaic Lounge v. BCR, Case No.: 03-C-14-00449, Repid v. Sandy Spring Insurance Company, Case No.: 03-C-13-001708, ACI v. Ditto, et al, 03-C-11-010612 Kober, et al. v. Presidential Bank, Case Nos.: C-10-12707, C-10-13043, C-10-12871, C-10-13041, C-10-13041, and C-10-12705