Areas of Practice:
- Civil Litigation
- Appellate Practice
- Insurance Coverage
- Construction Defects
- Animal-Related Torts
- Condominium and Community Associations
- Bankruptcy Adversary Proceedings
Bar Admissions:
- Maryland, 1978
- District of Columbia, 1979
- U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, 1979
- U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, 1979
- U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, 1979
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 1982
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Maryland, 2003
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Services, 2005
Education:
- J.D. with Honors, 1978 George Washington University Winner: First Year Van Vleck Moot Court Competition, 1976
- B.A., 1975 Princeton University With Honors in European History
- Judicial Law Clerk for The Honorable William H. McCullough Circuit Court for Prince George's County 1978-1979<
Professional and Civic Activities:
- Maryland State Bar Association, 1979-Present
- Bar Association of the District of Columbia, 1979-Present
- Bar Association of Montgomery County, Maryland 1979-Present
- Chairman, Mentor-Mentee Program of the Montgomery County Bar Association, 1999-2000
- Chairman, Public Speakers Program of the Montgomery County Bar Association, 2002-2004
- Judge, Van Vleck Moot Court Competition, George Washington University National Law Center
- Judge, Cohen and Cohen Mock Trial Competition, George Washington University National Law Center
- Judge, Great American Mock Trial Regional Invitation Tournament, 2011-Present
- Simon E. Sobeloff Jewish Law Society, 2006-Present, Programming Chairman
- Princeton University Alumni Schools Committee 2012, 2014-Present
Publications and Seminars:
- The Maryland Bar Journal, Volume XVLI - Number 2, March/April 2013, Tracey v. Solesky: The Court of Appeals of Maryland Mounts the Pit-Bully Pulpit
- Bar Association of Montgomery County Newsletter, December 2010 Contingency Fee Agreements Redux
- State Farm Silver Spring Claim Center Seminar Handout, December 2009 Handling Condominium and Co-Op Claims
- Fordham University Video Lecture, The Dark Side of the Internet - November 2013
- Maryland State Bar Association Animal Law Section Perspectives on Using Strict Liability to Reduce Dog Bites in Maryland - September 2012
- University of Pennsylvania School of Law Tracey v. Solesky: The Fate of Pit Bulls in Maryland - June 2012
- Sligo Middle School Career Day 2008 Becoming A Lawyer; The Socratic Method; Student’s Rights
- OASIS Institute for Montgomery County Federalism and the Bush-Gore Election Dispute
- OASIS Institute for Montgomery County The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech and Religion
- OASIS Institute for Montgomery County The Law of Defamation
- Rotary Club of Montgomery County The Scope and Powers of Federal and State Courts
Richard E. Schimel
Of Counsel
rschimel@bregmanlaw.com
Mr. Schimel engages in civil litigation at both the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts. He is admitted to practice in both Maryland and the District of Columbia. His cases involve diverse subjects, including automobile torts, commercial transactions, condominium and homeowners association governance, defamation, premises liability, animal-related injuries, riparian rights, landlord-tenant affairs and bankruptcy adversary proceedings.
His appellate practice has led to significant development of the jurisprudence of Maryland and the District of Columbia in the fields of automobile and homeowners insurance coverage, defamation, wrongful discharge from employment, civil procedure, premises liability and vicious dog liability.
Mr. Schimel earned his J.D. from the George Washington University National Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1978. In his first year of law school, Mr. Schimel was a co-winner of the Van Vleck Moot Court Competition. During law school, he worked for the law firm of Clancy & Pfeifer in Chevy Chase, Maryland and Sachs, Greenbaum & Tayler in the District of Columbia. After graduation from law school, Mr. Schimel served as a judicial law clerk for Judge William H. McCullough, the Circuit Administrative Judge of the 7th Judicial Circuit and an Associate Judge of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland from September 1978 through August of 1979. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in European History from Princeton University in 1975.
Mr. Schimel is a member of the Maryland State Bar, the Bar Association of the District of Columbia and the Bar Association of Montgomery County, Maryland. He is admitted to practice in the following courts: State of Maryland, District of Columbia, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Services.
He has written and lectured extensively on pit bulls and breed-specific legislation and constitutional issues. In addition, he has served as a volunteer mock trial judge for many years at the college and law school level, and coached a local high school mock trial team. He has served as a mentor to newly-admitted members of the Maryland bar through programs run by both the Court of Appeals of Maryland and the Bar Association of Montgomery County. He is the Program Chairman of the Simon E. Sobeloff Jewish Law Society of Montgomery County, and is an interviewer for the Princeton University Alumni Schools Committee.