Mr. DeVries is a founding partner of Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann, LLP and has tried over 100 cases to verdict. He has extensive expertise in complex medical issues in drug and medical device cases and in the defense of health care professionals and institutions against claims of medical and professional malpractice. In products liability defense, Mr. DeVries served as one of the leaders of the national defense team involved in the defense of Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc. Mr. DeVries was involved in all aspects of the defense of this nationwide class action involving allegations of a defect in a pacemaker lead resulting in the recall of 42,000 leads worldwide. He has extensive experience in class action litigation and the defense of medical monitoring claims. He has also spoken and published on medical monitoring claims and class actions. For one of his publications on class actions, co-authored with two other attorneys at the firm, he was awarded the 1998 George W. Yancey Memorial Award by the IADC for the most outstanding contributions to the Defense Counsel Journal. Mr. DeVries has also served as lead counsel of a team of lawyers defending a nationally prominent institution in a large number of pediatric toxic exposure cases. The cases involved both an environmental research study dealing with lead in inner city homes and a clinical study dealing with the effects of medicating children with elevated blood lead levels.
Mr. DeVries is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has served as Chairman of the Medicine and Law Committee of the Torts and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association. Mr. DeVries has been extremely active in the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), having recently served as a member of its nine member Executive Committee which governs the organization and previously having chaired its Medical Malpractice Committee, served as Faculty member in its National Trial Academy, and has been a speaker in numerous of its programs. He served for two years as the President of the Maryland Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and presently represents Maryland as a member of the National Board of Directors of ABOTA. He is also a member of the International Society of Barristers and the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 1995. Being recognized as a leader by his peers, Mr. DeVries was honored as a recipient of the Daily Record's Leadership in Law Award, 2006, and has been named one of the Top 10 Super Lawyers in Maryland for 2007 and 2008.
In addition to his activities as a lawyer, Mr. DeVries has been extremely active in community affairs. In 1993, he was appointed by the Governor to serve as Chairman of the Emergency Medical Services Board which governs and oversees Maryland’s entire emergency medical system, a position which he still holds.
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Undergraduate: Dartmouth College, B.A., 1969 (with honors)
University of Maryland Law School, J.D., 1973 (with honors)
Member, Maryland Law Review, 1973
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- 1973 Court of Appeals of Maryland
- 1974 United States District Court for the District of Maryland
- 1976 United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- 1989 District of Columbia Court of Appeals
- 1991 United States District Court for the District of Columbia
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Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann, LLP, Partner (1988-Present)
Semmes, Bowen & Semmes, Associate (1973-1980) and Partner (1980-1988), Chairman, Medical Malpractice Department
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2006 - The Daily Record's Leadership in Law Award
2006 - Recipient of the Maryland Chapter American College of Emergency Physicians' - EMS Provider of the Year Award.
2005 - Inducted as a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
1988 - George W. Yancey Memorial Award from the International Association of Defense Counsel for the most outstanding contribution to the Defense Counsel Journal with the article "Back to the Future? Product Liability Class Actions and Proposed Rule 23 Changes."
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Faculty, Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education for Lawyers (MICPEL), Course on Deposition Training, 1984-1995
Faculty, MICPEL, Course on Medical Malpractice, 1985, Course On Structured Settlements, 1990, 1991
Faculty, MICPEL, Nine-Day Trial Advocacy Program, 1989-1994
Faculty, Maryland Trial Lawyers Association, Course on Medical Malpractice, 1983, 1985
Member, Maryland State Bar Association Special Committee on Health Claims Arbitration, 1983
Speaker, American Bar Association Annual Meeting, Medicine and Law Committee of TIPS, on Birth Related Torts, 1984
Moderator and Program Planner, American Bar Association Annual Meeting, Medicine and Law Committee of TIPS, on Current Developments and Future Trends, 1986
Moderator and Program Planner, American Bar Association Annual Meeting, Medicine and Law Committee of TIPS, on AIDS in the Hospital Workplace and on Current Developments in Medicine and Law, 1988
Moderator and Program Planner, International Association of Defense Counsel, Annual Meeting, Medical Malpractice Committee, Breast Cancer Program, 1991
Faculty, International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy, Boulder, Colorado, 1991
Moderator and Program Planner, International Association of Defense Counsel, Annual Meeting, Medical Malpractice Committee, AIDS Program, 1992
Faculty, ABA National Institute on Medical Malpractice, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990
Member, Joint Executive/Legislative Task Force on Medical Malpractice Insurance, 1985, resulting in tort reform enacted by legislature in 1986
Member, Committee on Uninsured Persons, Governor's Commission on Health Care Policy and Financing, 1988-1990
Member, District of Columbia Bar, 1989-Present
Speaker, Defense Research Institute, Drug and Medical Device Seminar on Medical Monitoring, Spring, 2000
Speaker, “Strategies for Defending Medical Monitoring Claims,” Defense Research Institute, Drug and Medical Device Litigation Seminar, 2000
Member, Steering Committee, Defense Research Institute, Chemical and Toxic Tort Special Litigation Group, 2002
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Fellow, American College Of Trial Lawyers, 2000-present
Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2005
Member, International Association of Defense Counsel, 1985-Present, Vice Chairman, Medical Malpractice Committee for Newsletters, 1989-1990, Program Chairman, 1990-1992, Chairman, Medical Malpractice Committee, 1992-1995, Chairman, Defense Counsel Committee, 1997-1999, Executive Committee, 1999-2002
Advocate, American Board of Trial Advocates, 1984-Present, Maryland Member of National Executive Committee, 1992-1995, President of Maryland Chapter, 1992-1995
Master, American Inns of Court, 1986-1992
Member, Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, 1993-Present
Member, International Society of Barristers, 1998-Present
The Best Lawyers in America, 1995 to Present
Oxford's Who's Who Registry of Extraordinary Professionals, 1993
Vice-Chairman, Medicine and Law Committee of Torts and Insurance Practice Section of ABA, 1982-1983, 1984-1985, 1985-1986, 1986-1987, 1987-1988, 1988-1989
Chairman, Medicine and Law Committee of Torts and Insurance Practice Section of American Bar Association, 1988-1989
Maryland Association of Defense Trial Counsel, 1980-Present
Defense Research Institute, 1983-Present
Forum Committee on Health Law of the ABA, 1984-Present
ABA, Medicine and Law Committee, Medical Advisory Panel, 1986-1987
Member, Wednesday Law Club, 1986-Present
Marquis Who's Who in American Law
Marquis Who’s Who in America
Marquis Who’s Who in Finance and Business
Member, Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, Physician's Practice Digest Editorial Board, 1990-1992
Member, AIDA, the International Insurance Law Society, U.S. Chapter, 1994-2002
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"Wrongful Life, Wrongful Birth, and Wrongful Pregnancy: Judicial Divergence in the Birth Related Torts", The Forum, Volume XX, Number 2, Winter 1985
Contributing Author -- Textbook -- Medical and Hospital Negligence, Volume III, Chapter 39, Defendant's Voir Dire (1988)
Co-Author, "Back to the Future? Product Liability Class Actions and Proposed Rule 23 Changes", Defense Counsel Journal, April 1997, Vol. 64, No. 2
Donald L. DeVries, Jr. and Ian Gallacher, “Medical Monitoring in Drug and Medical Device Cases: Taking the Temperature of a New Theory”, Defense Counsel Journal, April 2001, Vol. 68, No. 2
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Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, South Baltimore General Hospital, 1983-1988
Board of Trustees, Woodbourne Center, 1981-1988
Vestryman, St. David's Church, 1982-1985
Co-Chairman, American Heart Association Heart Ball, 1986, 1987, 1988
Chairman, Solicitation Committee, Shock Trauma Gala, 1988, 1989, Co-Chairman, Shock Trauma Gala, 1990, 1991
Member, Canons and Other Business Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, 1984-Present
Board of Directors, American Heart Association, Maryland Affiliate, 1986-1994
Board of Trustees, Roland Park Country School, 1987-1994
Chairman, Board of Visitors of Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services (Shock Trauma), 1990-1993
Chairman, Emergency Medical Services Board (EMS) (appointed by Governor to govern Maryland's entire emergency medical system), 1993-1997
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