Baltimore law firm names first managing partner

Brown, Goldstein & Levy has named attorney Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum as the firm’s first managing partner. (The Daily Record / Maximilian Franz)

Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP has named civil rights attorney Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum as its first-ever managing partner, citing the Baltimore law firm firm’s growth and expansion in recent years as the primary factor behind the new centralized management structure.

Krevor-Weisbaum, who has been with the firm since 2001 and began her new role Jan. 1, said the firm’s partners felt the strategic focus and administrative oversight that a managing partner provides will help continue that growth.

“Over the years, different partners have taken on different managerial responsibilities,” she said. “We’ve really gotten much larger — we’re now 18 lawyers [in total], and we have nine associates — and with growth there’s change. As we grew, and also as we grew in the type of work we do, we just got to the point that we thought it would be more efficient and effective.”

When the firm was founded three decades ago, the two original partners, Chris Brown and Dan Goldstein, shared the managerial responsibilities, said partner Andy Freeman. As the ranks of attorneys have grown, other partners have taken on work in areas such as human resources, technology and finance, he said.

“Various lawyers still contribute to those tasks, but we realized we would like to have one person focus on the firm as a whole, as we’ve grown larger and as we’re going through a transition from one generation to another of partners,” Freeman said. “On some level, it’s really an expansion of the role [Krevor-Weisbaum] has been playing for the last few years, doing the HR work and managing the people here. It’s in part a recognition that she’s been doing this and in part a desire to formally have her take on all of these roles.”

The firm is well-known for its civil rights work, Krevor-Weisbaum said, but attorneys also handle a wide range of civil litigation as well as criminal defense. Over the last five-to-seven years, the breadth of the firm’s work has increased significantly, she said.

“We do commercial disputes, we do medical malpractice and personal injury, we do all sorts of employment work, in addition to civil rights work,” she said. “Our criminal defense practice is much larger than it’s ever been.”

Brown Goldstein also has begun taking on more clients from across the country, although Krevor-Weisbaum said she and other attorneys are proud to work for a Baltimore-centric firm. In years to come, she said she imagines the firm will continue its course of gradual growth. Attracting the “best and brightest” younger lawyers, as well as helping those already at the firm grow their practices, will be an important focus, she said.

“Our younger lawyers are building their practices and broadening their scope of work, and that’s exciting for our more senior partners to see,” she said.
Krevor-Weisbaum said she plans to continue her full-time practice while taking on the responsibilities of her new position. The firm hopes to continue partnering with other firms on occasion, she said, as well as grow its class-action work.

“Not only is she a great lawyer, but she’s a wonderful strategic thinker about the firm and a great manager of people,” Freeman said. “Everyone who knows Sharon respects her and likes her — the general reaction is that, ‘It’s a thankless job, but you’re fortunate to have her do it,’ and that’s certainly the way we feel.”