Frank Laws

Practice:

• Labor and Employment Law
• Wage Compliance
• Administrative and Regulatory
• Creditors Compliance and Litigation
• Construction Claims
• Business Litigation
• Real Estate and Land Development Litigation
• Civil Rights
• Class Action Offense and Defense

Frank Laws chairs the firm’s labor and employment practice, as well as its construction claims practice. He oversees a practice area that includes shareholders and associates engaged in the full range of issues generated in the process of employment. The group administers, negotiates, and/or generally provides advice in the full spectrum of the alphabet soup statutes enacted to govern employment, including ADEA, ADDA, Title VII, FLSA, FMLA, ERISA, Sarbanes-Oxley, 42 U.S.C. 1981, 1983, and 1985(3), USERRA, etc. Mr. Laws has litigated employment cases in a host of federal and state forums, individual claims as well as class actions.

Shortly after he started practicing law, Mr. Laws became a member of Associated Builders and Contractors, sitting as an ex officio member of the Board for the Baltimore Chapter. Although ostensibly a member of his firm’s labor and employment law department, the interaction with contractors sparked an interest in construction claims litigation that has been a significant part of his practice since. He has litigated construction claims as high as tens of millions of dollars throughout the country and represents some of the largest Maryland based construction companies.

In addition to his employment and construction practice, Mr. Laws has developed a strong practice in commercial litigation. He has successfully litigated cases throughout the east coast and as far west as Denver and Houston.

Before joining Thomas & Libowitz, Mr. Laws was a partner in what was then the state’s largest law firm, Venable, Baetjer and Howard. He clerked for Harry A. Cole on the Maryland Court of Appeals, until that time the only individual to hold that position while still a student. He also interned for the Honorable James R. Miller in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, and he taught legal research and writing at the University of Baltimore School of Law. He graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law day program in two and one-half years, while holding a full-time position at John Hopkins Hospital.

Bar Admissions:

• U. S. Supreme Court
• U. S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
• U. S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
• U. S. District Court, District of Maryland
• U. S. District Court, District of Colorado
• U. S. District Court, District of Columbia
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims
• Maryland Court of Appeals

Education:

• Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, CA 1973
• University of Baltimore, 1979
• University of Baltimore School of Law, 1982

Outside The Office:

Mr. Laws and his wife, Duffy, currently lead a partnership between their community in Kingsville, Maryland, and a community in the slums of Mombasa, Kenya. The partnership has led to the provision of clean drinking water, emergency electrical services, assistance to CRS sponsored healthcare for people with HIV, a community food bank for those unable to provide for themselves, and the establishment of cottage industries to assist women without husbands to provide for their families. The partnership is currently working with residents in Mombasa to purchase computers with video cameras and high-speed internet connections to allow youth groups from Kingsville and Mombasa to speak directly with one another, to foster and promote a mutual cultural exchange.

Before law school, Mr. Laws served in the United States Army Security Agency as a Chinese Linguist, and with the Baltimore Police Department on the department’s Quick Response Team (also known as SWAT), and on patrol in the City’s Southern District. He testified as the chief witness in hundreds of trials before going to law school.

Mr. Laws is a permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Church and for many years served as the Scoutmaster for Troop 877 in Kingsville, Maryland. He has been the recipient of numerous community service awards, including the St. George Cross and Mid Town Churches Community Association Volunteer of the Year Award. His hobbies include alpine mountaineering (he has climbed many of the major peaks in the United States, including Denali), ice climbing, hunting, fishing, and backpacking. He has 29 graduate credits in theology from the Washington Theological Union.