Andrew Jay Graham is one of the most highly regarded trial attorneys in Maryland. Since co-founding Kramon & Graham in 1975, Andy has been involved in many of the most high-profile cases and jury trials in the state and in the nation. With a versatile litigation practice, Andy handles matters involving complex business disputes, securities litigation, general civil litigation, professional liability, white-collar crime, trade secrets, and executive employment disputes. A former Assistant U.S. Attorney for Maryland with more than five decades of litigation experience, Andy is distinguished for his integrity, analytical thinking, and courtroom achievements. He is regularly retained by other lawyers and law firms in malpractice actions and grievance proceedings as well as by judges in judicial disciplinary matters. Additionally, Andy serves as an experienced mediator and expert witness on legal fees and ethics.
Service
Andy chaired the Maryland Chapter of the American College of Trial Lawyers from 1996 to 1998 and has been a Fellow in the College since 1989. He served as President of the Maryland Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and has held many board and committee positions with various bar associations, including the American Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association, and the Bar Association of Baltimore City. He maintains an active membership in four of Baltimore's six historic law clubs, and he is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference.
From 2001 to 2003, Andy chaired the Maryland State Bar Association's Ethics 2000 Committee. He also served as a member of the commission appointed by the Supreme Court of Maryland to study and recommend changes to the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct. In 2012, Andy was asked by the Chief Judge of the District of Maryland to lead a committee that was formed to study and recommend changes to the court's rules on attorneys' fees. He has served on several Maryland judicial selection committees for the Maryland State Bar and Federal Bar associations, and formerly served by appointment as a member of the Federal Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel.
Andy has devoted his professional life to raising the ethical standards of the legal profession and improving the administration of justice. He believes deeply that community service is a fundamental responsibility of all lawyers and supports cultural, charitable, educational, and philanthropic organizations, including Everyman Theater, Center Stage, Baltimore School for the Arts, CollegeBound Foundation, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. He is a former President of the Baltimore Courthouse of Law Museum Foundation.
Andy co-chaired and chaired the Maryland Legal Aid's Equal Justice Council for 13 years. In recognition of his service, he was honored with the Council's Executive Director Award in 2011 and Exemplar of Equal Justice Award in 2015.
Described in Chambers USA as 'one of the deans of the trial Bar in Maryland' and 'a go-to litigator for bet-the-company cases and defending high-profile individuals.' According to sources, 'There's nothing he can't do, and nothing that he doesn't do well.'
Given his national reputation for handling high-stakes litigation, clients frequently call upon Andy to handle matters involving bet-the-company disputes, allegations of serious professional misconduct or negligence, and white-collar criminal charges. Chambers USA, describes him as "a tremendous trial lawyer and one of the most widely respected attorneys in the state." His accolades include:
- Chambers USA, since 2004
- Benchmark Litigation, Local Litigation Star, since 2013
- The Best Lawyers in America, since 1993; named Baltimore "Lawyer of the Year" in Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2019; Litigation - Securities, 2017; Arbitration, 2014; Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2013; Intellectual Property, 2013; Arbitration, 2012; Alternative Dispute Resolution, 2010; Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2010
- Selected for Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, since inaugural edition 2022
- AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- Maryland Legal Services Corporation, Arthur W. Machen, Jr. Award, 2018
- Maryland State Bar Association, recipient, Litigator of the Year Award, 2011 - 2012
- The Daily Record, recipient, Leadership in Law Award
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- New York
- Supreme Court of the United States
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- United States District Court for the District of Maryland
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Superior Court for the District of Columbia
- Supreme Court of Maryland
- Supreme Court of the State of New York
Honorable Alexander Harvey II, United States District Court for the District of Maryland
American Bar Association -- Vice-Chairman, Committee on Class Actions, 1976 - 1977; Member, Committee on Advocacy, 1978 - 1979, 1982 - 1983; Member, Committee on Commercial Law, 1982 - 1983
American Bar Foundation, Life Fellow
American College of Trial Lawyers, former Maryland Chapter Chair, Fellow
Baltimore Bar Foundation, Lifetime Fellow
Bar Association of Baltimore City -- Treasurer, 1981 - 1982; Secretary, 1982 - 1983; Program Chairman, 1984 - 1985; Member, Executive Council, 1979 - 1985; Board of Trustees, 2003 - 2004
Federal Bar Association -- Maryland Chapter President, 1980 - 1981; Chairman, Judicial Selection Committee, 1978 - 1984
Federal Court Advisory Committee, 1991 - 1994
Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, Permanent Member
Magistrate Judges' Merit Selection Panel 2010 - 2016
Maryland Bar Foundation, Fellow
Maryland State Bar Association -- Judicial Selection Committee, 1977 - 1980; Board of Governors, 1980, 1983 - 1985; Executive Committee, 1984 - 1985; Commercial Transactions Litigation Committee, 1979 - 1980; Chairman, Ethics 2000 Committee, 2001 - 2004
The Lawyers' Round Table, Wednesday Law Club, The Barristers' Club, and The Rule Day Club
Panelist, “You Have Been Hacked! Cyber Security Pitfalls and Liability,” Maryland Bankruptcy Bar Association, 22nd Annual Spring Break, 2018
Panelist, "Tips & Advice for Responding to the Commission on Judicial Disabilities," Maryland Circuit Judges Association, 2017
Co-author, "Compelling and Staying Arbitration in Maryland," Thomson Reuters Practical Law, 2017
Co-author, "Enforcing Arbitration Awards in Maryland," Thomson Reuters Practical Law, 2016
Author and Lecturer, MICPEL -- Federal Procedure, Civil Discovery, Trial Practice and Employment Law, 1980, Successful Strategies for Winning Commercial Cases in Federal Court, 2004