Eric R. Harlan

Eric R. Harlan joined Smith, Gildea & Schmidt in 2022 and comes to the firm with nearly 30 years of trial and appellate experience, having tried jury cases to verdict in state and federal courts, and argued appeals before the Fourth Circuit and the Appellate Court of Maryland. As a trial lawyer Eric has achieved outstanding results for clients in a variety of matters, including employment litigation, complex commercial disputes, wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury litigation, and has earned an AV® Preeminent™ rating with Martindale-Hubbell, America’s leader in Peer Review Ratings. Eric is a member of the firm’s Litigation Group where his practice focuses on complex civil litigation and class actions.

A cum laude graduate of Washington & Lee University, and a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law, Eric began practicing in 1995 after clerking for the Honorable Joseph H.H. Kaplan, Administrative Judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. Outside of his law practice, Eric has served in several leadership roles in the American Bar Association Section and the Lawyers’ Campaign for CollegeBound Foundation. Eric also serves on the Board of Directors of Athletes Serving Athletes, a non-profit organization that empowers individuals with limited mobility to train for and participate in mainstream running events.

Education

Bar Admissions

Bar Memberships

Eric has been active in the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation since 2004 and a member of Section of Litigation Leadership since 2015. Eric currently co-chairs the Section’s Class Actions and Derivative Suits Committee and. Eric is a past chair of the Section’s Expert Witnesses Committee, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and Trial Evidence Committee.

In addition to the ABA, Eric is also a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar Association, and the Baltimore County Bar Association.

Accolades, Publications & Speaking Engagements

Eric was admitted to membership in the University of Baltimore Law Heuisler Honor Society for academic achievement and won American Jurisprudence Awards in Federal Jurisdiction and Professional Responsibility. He also served as the Articles Editor for the University of Baltimore Law Review. Eric has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and by Maryland Super Lawyers for commercial and business litigation.

Through the ABA, Eric has served as a faculty member of the Anatomy of a Trial and similar boot camp trial training programs for young litigators. He has also prepared and moderated numerous CLE programs at the ABA’s Section of Litigation Annual Conferences, including “Know Your Gatekeeper: Tips on Admissibility of Expert Testimony,” San Diego, CA 2018, and “Are you Smarter than a Law Student—Testing Your Knowledge of the Federal Rules of Evidence,” San Francisco, CA 2017.

Eric also co-edited and was a contributing author of “Fifty-State Survey, Daubert v. Frye, Admissibility of Expert Testimony” (ABA First Chair Press, 2016).

Commitment to Community

One of Eric’s passions is Athletes Serving Athletes, a non-profit organization that pairs limited mobility and special needs individuals with able bodied runners to train for and participate in mainstream running events. Eric became involved with ASA in 2011 as a “wingman” pushing athletes in specially modified jogging strollers in 5K, 10K, and half marathon events. He has served on ASA’s Board of Directors since 2021.

Previously, Eric served on the Executive Committee for Lawyers’ Campaign for College Bound Foundation, which provides last-dollar grants and other assistance to Baltimore City high school students seeking higher education.

Representative Cases

Not long after joining the firm, Eric secured certification of a 600-member class of mortgage borrowers who were victims of RESPA kickback violations in McPeake, et. al. v. Universal Mortgage & Finance, Inc., a class action pending in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County.

Before coming to SGS, Eric was part of numerous class action litigation teams, including In re Titanium Dioxide Antitrust Litigation, which resulted in a $163.5 million settlement for class members.

Eric also served as local counsel for several Maryland municipality plaintiffs that obtained settlements in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation.

Serving as lead counsel, Eric obtained a $2.5 million settlement for families in a multiple wrongful death and survivor action against a commercial freight carrier in the Circuit Court for Howard County and won a $7 million judgment against a defendant in a commercial dispute in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County.

(410) 821-0070

Practice Areas

Maryland Trial Lawyers & Litigation Attorneys

RESPA and Kickback Scheme Litigation

Mortgage and Financial Services Fraud

Eric R. Harlan

Education

Bar Admissions

Bar Memberships

Accolades, Publications & Speaking Engagements

Commitment to Community

Representative Cases

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20+ Years of Excellence Serving the Baltimore Community

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