Send an email to Ronald A. Karp
Phone: 301-948-3800, 202-719-8945
Ronald A. Karp, the Founding Partner, is heading into his 54th year of practice and still practices law. For all of these years, his guiding principle has been an unwavering commitment to changing lives and making justice a reality. If you want to fully understand Ron’s philosophy of practicing law, read his Message from founding partner.
Changing lives is more than a slogan, it is at Ron’s very heart and soul. His greatest satisfaction is obtaining justice and compensation for victims faced with life-altering injuries or devastation. Ron is proud of the exceptional results his law firm has delivered to thousands of clients throughout the years. Ron is also proud that the firm is rated in the Top Tier by U.S News and World Report for law firm rankings.
RON’S TEAM HAS COLLECTED over $100M on behalf of U.S. State Department victims of terrorism. In 2017 alone they collected over $30M, read the story in the Daily Record. READ THE STORY.
In 2010 Ron and Thomas Fay tried a case in federal court in Washington, D.C. on behalf of victims of the 1998 bombing of a US Embassy. That trial ultimately resulted in a $487 million dollar judgment for the victims and their families. Ron has represented these victims of terrorisms for over 20 years now and has worked with a talented team of lawyers, including James Murphy, Thomas Fortune Fay and Matthew McGill, (now with the firm of King & Spaulding) to collect this judgment. All of the funds collected from this judgment have come from assets seized from nations designated in the State Department list of terrorist nations and where terrorist funds were found. No U.S. taxpayer funds were involved in these payments. The United States Department of Justice, through several administrations have assisted in these collection efforts. The efforts continue to this day. The importance of compensating victims of terrorism has been a bi-partisan effort assisted by the all three branches of government.
It has been one of Ron’s great professional joys and honors to be part of a team that represents victims of terrorism and to communicate with them for two decades. Their stories are inspiring and they are a continuous source of strength.
Among Ron’s other prominent cases, he is proud of representing a group of women at a Fortune 500 company that were sexually assaulted/harassed by their supervisor. The case resulted in an extensive, hard fought, jury trial culminating in a generous verdict vindicating his clients. (See his blog on Sexual Assault and Harassment on our website). Ron also represented Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose (famous for the capturing the snipers) in his First Amendment battle to publish his book Three Weeks in October, which became a New York Times bestseller. Ron’s co-counsel in that case was then constitutional law professor Jamie Raskin, now his congressman.
Ron secured the very first million dollar jury verdict in the history of Frederick County, Maryland and has secured millions of dollars in litigation for victims of truck accidents and other negligence.
Well-respected by his peers, Ron has been selected again in 2026 to appear in Best Lawyers in America—a listing of the top five percent of lawyers in the United States. Ron has also been selected again by his peers for inclusion in the 2026 Super Lawyers listing. He has been listed in Super Lawyers for as long the rating service has been around and on numerous occasions he was listed in the Super Lawyers Top 100 lawyers in BOTH Washington, D.C and Maryland. He was listed among the top 100 lawyers receiving the highest point totals in voting by his peers and a blue ribbon panel. With more than 100,000 lawyers in the Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia area, this recognition by his peers in both jurisdictions has been a source of professional pride. He has the highest peer rating possible from Martindale-Hubbel and has been inducted as a Fellow in the Maryland Bar Foundation and the prestigious Belli Society. He has been a past president of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C, the George Washington Inns of Court, and the American Board of Trial Advocates (for the Washington region).
Ron has been a frequent lecturer at trial lawyer seminars. He has lectured with his friend Tom Fay on representing victims of terrorism and domestic crime at the Washington College of Law. He has been lead counsel in a numerous high profile cases which have been referenced in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, NBC Network News, The Today Show. People Magazine as well as other media outlets.
In Ron’s long career, he likes to cite, as an example of affecting many lives for the better, a case he tried against the District of Columbia which resulted in the busiest hospital in the city getting a CT Scan machine — Blake v. District of Columbia. The verdict was picked up by the Wall Street Journal in an editorial that warned hospitals not to try to save money by cutting back on medical equipment. That case has since been cited throughout the United States when local municipalities are seeking sophisticated medical equipment for their hospitals. It was a case for which Ron was honored with the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award by his peers in Washington, D.C.
Areas of practice
- Trucking Accidents
- Bicycle Accidents
- Sexual Harassment and Assault
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Premises Liability (liability of building owners and landlords)
- Automobile accidents
- Professional Malpractice
- Victims of Terrorism
Admitted to practice
- Maryland, 1972 (federal and state courts)
- District of Columbia, 1972 (federal and Superior Court).
- Supreme Court of the United States
Honors and Awards
- Super Lawyers (Top 100 lawyers in two jurisdictions—DC and Maryland)
- Best Lawyers in America (Listing of top 5% of lawyers in United States)
- AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®
- Recipient, Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, Trial Lawyers Assn. of Metro D.C.
- Fellow, Belli Society
- Fellow, Maryland Bar Foundation
- Top Lawyers in Washington, DC metropolitan area, The Washingtonian magazine
- Who’s Who in American Law, Millennium Edition
- Who’s Who in America
- National Association of Distinguished Counsel (Listing of top 1% of nation’s lawyers)
Education
- Washington College of Law of American University, J.D., 1971
- University of Maryland, B.A., 1967
Professional memberships (past and present)
- Dean’s Advisory Council, American University, Washington College of Law
- Washington Regional Board, Anti-Defamation League (30 years)
- Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, DC – Former President
- George Washington Inns of Court – Former President