Personal Injury Litigation Attorney

Job Description

Job Description

We pay our attorneys to advance cases, not to close them fast. Your commission rate climbs at every stage a case moves forward, and it is highest on cases you try to verdict. Bring us a case you originated yourself, and you earn 30% of the firm's net fee on it. If you have spent two years being told to work up a demand and take the offer, this is a different job.

WGK Personal Injury Lawyers has represented injured Marylanders since 1977. Founded by William Kolodner and now led by his daughter Jill Kolodner and grandson Hunter Duke, we are a family-owned, multi-generational firm and a two-time Inc. 5000 honoree for fastest-growing private companies. You will work directly with firm leadership rather than through layers of committees.

This is a litigation role, not a pre-litigation role. You will carry a docket of approximately 60 active personal injury files and take them from complaint through resolution: drafting and arguing motions, deposing treating physicians and defense experts, negotiating at mediation and arbitration, and trying cases in District and Circuit Courts across Maryland. You will work with a team of three litigation paralegals, plus our investigations and bilingual intake staff, who handle records retrieval, lien resolution, and scheduling so that you are practicing law instead of chasing paper.

We work in person five days a week at our downtown Baltimore office at 14 West Madison Street, with free parking provided. Trial teams prepare together, and that is a deliberate choice rather than a default.

Compensation

$120,000 - $165,000 yearly , depending on experience plus commission.

Commission is a percentage of the firm's fee on every case you resolve, and the percentage escalates by how far you advance the case: a base rate on cases settled pre-suit, a higher rate on cases resolved after filing suit or through mediation, higher again through arbitration, and the highest rate on cases tried to a favorable verdict.

Separately, you earn 30% of the firm's net fee on any case you independently originate and bring into the firm . Origination commission stacks on top of resolution commission on the same case.

Specific commission rates are provided in writing during the interview process and confirmed in your offer letter.

Benefits:

• Stage-based commission on every case you resolve, plus 30% of net fee on cases you originate

• Health insurance with 80% of premiums employer-paid, effective the first of the month following 60 days of employment

• Health reimbursement card covering copays, currently up to $2,650 per year

• Dental and vision insurance available through payroll deduction, same waiting period

• $20,000 term life insurance at no cost to you, effective the first of the month following 60 days of employment

• 401(k) with employer match up to 4%, eligible after six months of employment

• Unlimited paid time off. We expect you to take at least three weeks

• Gym membership covered

• Free parking at our downtown Baltimore office

• Optional supplemental life, short-term disability, and additional coverage through payroll deduction

• No billable hour requirement

Values and Benefits

Why WGK. We are three generations of one family representing injured Marylanders against insurance companies, and we have grown fast without outsourcing the work that matters. Our attorneys are backed by a team of litigation paralegals, an investigations team, a bilingual intake department, and a technology stack built to keep lawyers doing legal work instead of chasing records and status updates. There is no billable hour requirement. We measure attorneys on case outcomes, not on time entries.

Interview Process

• Application review, with a response within five business days

• Forty-five-minute screening call by phone or Zoom

• Panel interview at our Baltimore office with firm leadership and the litigation team, approximately 90 minutes

• Writing sample review, either a motion or brief you drafted or a short exercise we provide

• Reference checks and background verification

• Offer

We expect to make a decision within three weeks of your first conversation with us.

Compensation:

$120,000 - $165,000 yearly

Responsibilities:

• Own a docket of approximately 60 active filed personal injury cases from complaint through resolution

• Draft and file pleadings, written discovery, and dispositive and pretrial motions, and argue them in District and Circuit Court

• Take and defend depositions of parties, treating physicians, and retained experts

• Try cases to verdict in District and Circuit Courts throughout Maryland

• Build damages: select and prepare experts, develop life care and wage loss proof, and construct the trial narrative

• Direct discovery strategy and work alongside your litigation paralegal team

• Evaluate settlement posture and advise clients directly, in plain language, on where their case stands and why

• Document all case activity in Filevine so the file is trial-ready at any point

Qualifications:

• Juris Doctor from an accredited law school

• Active admission to the Maryland Bar. District of Columbia admission is a plus, not a requirement

• Two (2) or more years litigating personal injury cases in Maryland

• A minimum of ten (10) trials in Maryland District or Circuit Court. You should be able to describe a case you tried, what you would do differently, and why you want to do it again

• Working knowledge of the Maryland-specific issues that decide these cases: contributory negligence, boarding statutes, PIP and UM/UIM coverage, and lien and subrogation resolution

• Comfort carrying a full filed caseload and the judgment to triage which files need attention today

• Proficiency with case management software. Experience with Filevine is a plus, not a requirement

• Available Monday through Friday, five days per week onsite in downtown Baltimore

About Company

WGK Personal Injury Lawyers is a Baltimore personal injury firm founded in 1977 by William Kolodner and now led by his daughter Jill Kolodner and grandson Hunter Duke. We represent injured Marylanders against negligent defendants and the insurance companies behind them, handling auto and truck collisions, premises liability, wrongful death, dog bites, pedestrian and cyclist injuries, and medical malpractice.

WGK is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.