Law Offices of Arnold M. Weiner Join Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan & Silver, LLC

Effective July 1, Firm to Become Rifkin, Weiner, Livingston, Levitan & Silver, LLC
Weiner Law Office Principal Barry L. Gogel and Other Colleagues Also Join Firm

 ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 15, 2013) – Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan & Silver, LLC, an Annapolis-based law firm with additional offices in Bethesda and Upper Marlboro, will acquire and merge with the Law Offices of Arnold M. Weiner to become Rifkin, Weiner, Livingston, Levitan & Silver, LLC. The partnership and merger of two of Maryland’s most successful and well-respected law firms will be effective July 1.

Arnold M. Weiner and Barry L. Gogel will join the Rifkin firm and constitute the Baltimore office of the firm, located at Weiner’s current signature offices in the historic Clipper Mill.

“We are more than delighted that Arnold and Barry will be joining our practice,” said Alan M. Rifkin, Managing Partner of the firm. “By any measure, they are extraordinary litigators and first class attorneys. Many of our clients have legal matters throughout the Baltimore/Washington region, and reestablishing a Baltimore office has been a high priority for some time. This is a perfect fit with exactly the right people for the continued growth of our firm.”

Rifkin and Weiner have often worked together on several key cases, including the litigation over the Baltimore Orioles’ telecast rights with the Comcast Sports Network, which paved the way for the creation of the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.

Arnold M. Weiner and Alan M. Rifkin will merge their firms effective July 1, creating Rifkin, Weiner, Livingston, Levitan & Silver LLC.

According to Weiner, “We have worked with Alan and his firm seamlessly for years on a variety of complex legal and transactional matters. They are extremely talented lawyers who are highly skilled in dealing with high stakes cases involving complex issues. I’ve always been impressed with the firm’s capabilities. In my view, this is the perfect partnership.”

Founded in 1989 by Rifkin, counsel to former Governor William Donald Schaefer, and the Honorable Edgar P. Silver, former Baltimore Circuit Court Judge, RLLS has become one of Maryland’s preeminent law firms. The firm provides an important link in helping clients navigate Maryland laws, regulations, and governmental institutions. The firm represents a number of national and international clients, including several Fortune 500 companies, in complex commercial and civil matters.

Arnold M. Weiner has been widely recognized as one of the most experienced and highly sought-after attorneys in Maryland for many years. Among other accolades, Mr. Weiner has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America since 1995, has been a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers for more than thirty years, and was listed in the Top Ten of Maryland Super Lawyers for five consecutive years. His practice emphasizes large-scale civil litigation in Maryland and around the country.

Many of the RLLS attorneys have been named annually to the Super Lawyers list as top lawyers in Maryland and the firm was recently profiled in LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell’s Top Rated Lawyers in the Baltimore/Washington region. The firm’s practice areas include administrative law, appellate law, business and commercial transactions, civil and commercial litigation, corporate law, election law, employment law, government relations, healthcare law, catastrophic personal injury, procurement law, real estate law, sports franchise law, strategic communications, and zoning and land use law. Among the firm’s clients are the Baltimore Orioles, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, AOL, Caesars Baltimore, Maryland Automobile Dealers Association, Maryland Jockey Club, Maryland Hospital Association, and other local and national businesses and institutions.

Mr. Weiner has served both an Assistant United States Attorney and Assistant Attorney General for the State of Maryland. He was lead defense attorney in the high-profile prosecutions of Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel, Congressman Edward Garmatz, and Baltimore Mayor Sheila A. Dixon, as well as many other notable criminal trials. He has also represented artists, athletes, businesses, and entities in multi-million dollar litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States. His representation of the bankruptcy estate of the former clothing giant Merry-Go-Round resulted in a then-record $185 million settlement against the accounting firm of Ernst & Young.

Barry Gogel is a well-regarded and highly active attorney in his own right. He helped form the Law Offices of Arnold M. Weiner in 2007 and has represented business and individual clients in complex litigation in Maryland, New York, and Florida. He is listed in Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America and teaches Negotiations at the University of Maryland Frances King Carey Law School.

To meet the goals and needs of its clients, the Rifkin Weiner Firm has a strategic alliance with Jeffrey E. Nusinov, one of the State’s most experienced estates and trusts litigators, and Norman L. Smith, a former prosecutor with the Maryland Attorney General’s Office with extensive experience in white-collar defense and professional licensing litigation. The firms practice independently and not in a relationship for the joint practice of law.