Costello104 West Street
P.O. Box 551
Annapolis, Maryland 21404-0551
Phone: (410) 263-5900 x1117
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Fax: (410) 280-2230

Mr. Rutland is the Managing Shareholder of the Firm. An accomplished trial lawyer, his practice primarily involves the defense of health care professionals, and general civil litigation.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, an organization whose invitation-only membership can never exceed 1% of the total lawyer population of any state or province.

Mr. Rutland is licensed to practice in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia and has handled numerous jury trials in the state and federal courts of those jurisdictions. In addition, Mr. Rutland has successfully argued appeals in the highest courts of each jurisdiction. He is an elected member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and is listed in Best Lawyers in America (including 2018 Lawyer of the Year in Medical Malpractice Law-Defendants in Annapolis) and Maryland Super Lawyers. He has been listed as one of Washington D.C.'s Top Lawyers, and was named "Lawyer of the Year" in 2012 by the D.C. Defense Lawyers Association. Also, in 2020, he was elected to become a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.

After graduating with honors from Mount Saint Mary's College in 1980, Mr. Rutland attended the University of Maryland School of Law, where he obtained his J.D. Degree in 1983. He thereafter clerked for the Honorable James S. McAuliffe, Jr. in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. Following his clerkship, Mr. Rutland worked as an associate at the firm of McCarthy, Wilson & Ethridge, before joining the Firm in 1985.Mr. Rutland is admitted to the Bars of the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Mr. Rutland is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar, the Virginia State Bar, the Anne Arundel County Bar, and the D.C. Defense Lawyers' Association.

Mr. Rutland is AV® Peer Review Rated in Martindale-Hubbell.

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings - McAfee & Taft

Bar Admissions:

  • Maryland, 1983
  • U.S. District Court District of Maryland, 1984
  • District of Columbia, 1985
  • U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, 1985
  • Virginia, 1993
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Virginia, 1993
  • U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit, 1986
  • U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, 1987
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1987

Education:

  • University of Maryland School of Law, Baltimore, Maryland, 1983 J.D.
  • Mount Saint Mary's College, 1980 B.S. Honors: Cum Laude

Honors and Awards:

  • Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
  • Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
  • America's Most Honored Lawyers, Top 1%, American Registry (2017-present)
  • Best Lawyers in America, 2013 - Present
  • Best Lawyers "Lawyer of the Year" for Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants in Annapolis (2018 and 2024)
  • Washington, D.C.'s Top Lawyers (2017-present)
  • Maryland Super Lawyers (2020-present)
  • Lawyer of The Year, 2012 (District of Columbia Defense Lawyers Association)

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Professional Associations and Memberships:

  • Anne Arundel County Bar
  • Member, American Board of Trial Advocates
  • Maryland State Bar Association
  • The District of Columbia Bar
  • The Virginia State Bar
  • District of Columbia Defense Lawyers Association