Rick is a principal member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation, Business Law, and Personal Injury practice groups. He works primarily in the areas of commercial litigation, insurance defense, insurance coverage, personal injury, toxic torts, products liability, construction litigation, business law, and professional liability. Throughout the course of his career, Rick has handled thousands of cases to resolution for a multitude of individual, institutional and commercial clients, including hundreds of jury and bench trials, administrative and arbitration hearings, and appellate proceedings primarily in the State and Federal courts of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Rick has also served numerous professional boards and associations, conducted training and continuing legal education seminars, and contributed to educational materials in the furtherance of education, professionalism and civility in the practice of law.

Area of Practice: Governmental Relations Gerard E. Evans has been one of Annapolis’ top lobbyists for the past twenty-five years. Over the years, he has represented a wide range of clients and interests before the Maryland General Assembly including the Washington Redskins, the Baltimore Orioles, Constellation Energy, Verizon Communications, Glaxo, Medical Mutual, the Maryland Hospital Association, the State Medical Society, Penn National Gaming, the Fraternal Order of Police and Professional Fire Fighters, the Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos, and the Maryland Transportation Builders and Materials Association, as well as the Maryland Asphalt Association. He began his career in 1976 working for Montgomery County Senate Delegation Chair Victor L. Crawford as his top aide. In 1977, he went to work for Senator Mike Miller for Prince George’s County. When Senator Miller became Chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee in 1982, Evans became his top legislative assistant. During this time, he earned a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Maryland and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore. Later he served on the Law School Dean’s Advisory Board and the University of Maryland’s Board of Visitors. His political life has included Chairman of the Prince George’s County Democratic Party and Deputy Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party. He has held numerous executive level positions with campaigns ranging from Mondale/Ferraro to Clinton/Gore. He also served as State Finance Director for Gore for President in 1988 and ran Joe Curran’s successful campaign for Attorney General in 1986. He directed the National Democratic Party Presidential Convention site selection committee in 1992. Evans has taught pro-bono at the University of Maryland, College Park in the School of Public Policy and James McGregor Burns Academy of Leadership for the past seventeen years. He also served as a Senior Scholar to the Burns Academy. Gerry is active in a host of community and philanthropic causes including the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Hope House Rehabilitation Center, and Next One Up where he serves as a member of the Board of Directors. He is married to Kathleen Evans, a Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commissioner. They have five children, six grandchildren, and live in Davidsonville, MD.

Michael Ezzell obtained his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering magna cum laude from the University of Houston in 1974, and his Doctor of Jurisprudence summa cum laude in 1979. He has been a practicing attorney in San Antonio for over 34 years, has been Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1986, is certified by the National Institute for Mediation, and also has his Advanced Certification in Family, Child Custody and Divorce Mediation. He is also active in community organizations, including Mobile Loaves and Fishes, the Bexar County Community Justice Program, and is a board member of Key2Free, a nonprofit organization founded by his daughter to fight human trafficking by providing safe houses and training programs.