Hilton named appeals court clerk

Philip Gregory Hilton has been named clerk of the Court of Special Appeals. After the court made the appointment, Hilton was sworn in by Gov. Martin O’Malley on Aug. 29 at the Maryland State House.

Hilton has been with the Court of Special Appeals since 2009. He was appointed assistant chief deputy clerk of the Court of Special Appeals in October 2009 and was promoted to chief deputy clerk in July 2011. He succeeds Leslie Gradet, who retired July 31 after 25 years as clerk.

As head of the clerk’s office for the state’s second highest court, Hilton manages staff, operations and business processes, oversees the court docket, and leads the implementation of Maryland Electronic Courts in the Court of Special Appeals. He also advises the Court of Special Appeals’ Chief Judge Peter B. Krauser and the court on the implementation of policy.

Prior to joining the clerk’s office, Hilton served in the United States Navy and was most recently on active duty in Afghanistan from November 2007-December 2008. He has 26 years of active and reserve service, and continues to serve as a captain with the Navy Reserve. Before his mobilization, Hilton had been an attorney with the Severna Park law firm Corbin, Schaffer & Aviles from 1999-2008 and with Shaffer & Solomon, P.A., in Greenbelt, from 1996-1999.

Hilton earned his undergraduate degree in 1987 from the College of the Holy Cross and graduated from the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., in 1995. He clerked for Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr. in Prince George’s County Circuit Court from 1995-1996. Hilton received a master’s degree in national security studies from the United States Navy War College in 2011.