RICHARD ADAMS III

Wilmington Trust, N.A.

Richard Adams III began his legal career as a copy clerk fresh out of high school — a job that his mother, who worked as a legal secretary, helped him secure. That early start evolved into roles as a legal secretary and then a paralegal, a position he held for 10 years in estate planning, trust administration, long-term care planning and special-needs planning before earning his juris doctor and certificate in estate planning from the University of Baltimore School of Law. He has been licensed to practice law in Maryland since 2017 and joined Wilmington Trust, N.A./M&T Bank in 2022. He is now senior vice president and senior trust officer at the firm’s Baltimore office, managing the fiduciary needs of significant personal trust clients throughout the U.S.

Adams has more than two decades of experience in the legal services industry, giving him an appreciation for the human connection and the power of listening.

Pro bono service is dear to his heart, and he remains an active pro bono volunteer and mentor to other volunteers through various organizations, including the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Adams serves on the board of eirectors for Maryland Legal Aid and on the Section Council for the Estate & Trust Law Section of the Maryland State Bar Association, and is an active member of the Baltimore Estate Planning Council and the Bar Association of Baltimore City. He also co-chairs the Membership and Outreach Committee of the bar association’s Estate and Trust Law Section, with a focus on connecting law students interested in estates and trusts with practitioners, and regularly mentors at the UB School of Law.

“I look at this as a call to action to continue to do good work in the Maryland community, to continue to help educate and empower others, especially law students and future law students,” Adams said.

His commitment has earned wide recognition. Adams was named a Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation in 2025 and received the Rising Star Award from the University of Baltimore School of Law Alumni Association in 2022. Earlier honors include the Mentor of the Year Award from the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service in 2021, The Daily Record Generation J.D. Leadership in Law Award in 2019, the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Bar Association of Baltimore City, Senior Legal Services in 2018, and recognition as a Maryland Super Lawyers Rising Star in Estate Planning and Probate Administration from 2019 through 2021.