David J. McManus

David J. McManus, Jr. handles a variety of health care law matters, including the defense of health care providers in medical malpractice litigation and general representation of hospitals and physicians on issues involving physician licensing and discipline, credentialing, confidentiality of medical records, informed consent, guardianships, physician licensing and discipline and termination of life-sustaining measures. He also handles general commercial litigation, insurance matters, defense of insurance agents and agencies, and election law and campaign finance matters.

Dave graduated with honors in 1983 from The University of Maryland Law School where he was Executive Editor of the Maryland Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Board. He graduated magna cum laude in 1980 from the State University of New York at Albany.

After law school, Dave clerked for the Honorable Harry A. Cole in the Court of Appeals of Maryland from 1983 to 1984. He then joined Piper & Marbury as an associate from 1984 to 1986. He served as an associate with Gebhardt & Smith from 1986 to 1988. He then joined Smith, Somerville & Case, LLC as an associate from 1988 to 1996 and was elected as a partner from 1996 through 1998. In 1998, he helped found Baxter Baker.

His principal areas of practice are Medical Malpractice Defense, Insurance Agent Malpractice Defense, Commercial Litigation, Administrative Law and Election Law. Dave was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1984 and the District of Columbia Bar in 1990, the U.S. District Court District of Maryland in 1985, the U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit in 1985 and the United States Supreme Court in 2000.

Dave is a recognized Super Lawyer, a respected national rating service of top attorneys from over 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Published by Thomson Reuters, the Super Lawyer ranking recognizes no more than the top five percent of Maryland attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law.

Dave is a past board member and chair of the Maryland State Board of Elections, serving from 2007 to 2019. He is also a member of the Maryland Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He served on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City from 2002 to 2006. In 1999, Dave was elected to the Board of Directors for Maryland Business for Responsive Government. Dave sits on the Alumni Board at the University of Maryland School of Law.  He has been active in the Federalist Society for Law and Policy Studies since 1998 and has been a member of the Maryland Society for Healthcare Risk Management since 1990.

Litigation

Healthcare Law

Administrative Law

Election Law

University of Maryland School of Law

Juris Doctor,  1983

State University of New York at Albany

Bachelor of Arts,  Political Science/Psychology, Magna Cum Laude, 1980

Bar Admissions

Maryland, 1984
District of Columbia, 1990

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, 1985
U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 1985
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 1990
United States Supreme Court, 2000

Board Member, Maryland State Board of Elections, 2007 – 2019

Member, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Maryland Chapter

Judicial Nominating Commission, Circuit Court for Baltimore City, 2002 – 2006

Dave sits on the Alumni Board at the University of Maryland School of Law.

Maryland Defense Counsel, Inc.

Maryland Business for Responsive Government, Board of Directors, 1999 – Present

Maryland Chamber of Commerce, Health Care Task Force, Civil Liability Task Force, 1999 – 2006

Board of Directors, First Home Care Corporation, 1999-2006

Governing Body, Crossroads House and Mount Clare House, 1999 – 2006

Newsletter Editor, American Bar Association, Banking & Commercial Litigation Committee, 1990 – 1998

Federalist Society for Law and Policy Studies, 1998 – Present

Maryland Society for Healthcare Risk Management, 1990 – Present

Defense Research Institute, 1990

Maryland State Bar Association, 1984 – Present

Baltimore City Bar Association, 1999 – Present

Baltimore County Bar Association, 2002 – Present

Anne Arundel Bar Association 2016 – Present

Successfully overturned

Portions of a Final Order from the Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners that imposed ultra vires sanctions on a Maryland dentist. Baxter Baker promptly filed a Petition for Judicial Review on behalf of the dentist in the Circuit Court for Howard County. The Petition was argued at a hearing in January 2020. The court agreed with the dentist’s argument that the Board exceeded its statutory authority and overturned the ultra vires conditions of probation set forth in the Final Order.

Bell v. Chance, 460 Md 28, 188 A.3d 930 (2018)

Bradford v. Jai Medical Center, 439 Md 2, 93 A.3d 697 (2014)

Consolidated Stent Cases, Circuit Court for Baltimore County (2015)

Hashmi v. Bennett, 416 Md 207, 7 A.3d 1059 (2010)

Cigna v. Zeitler, 126 Md App. 444, 730 A.2d 248(1999)

Jones v. Hyatt Insurance Agency, 356 Md 639, 241 A.2d 1099 (1999)

Super Lawyers, 2008-2021

 Personal Injury – Medical Malpractice

Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating

Martindale-Hubbell Highest Judicial Rating

University of Maryland School of Law Immigration Clinic

U.S. District Court for District of Maryland Panel Pro Bono Attorney

Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland – CINA Panel Attorney