An Experienced Trial Attorney
As an experienced trial attorney Mr. Downey has litigated numerous types of cases in both Federal and state courts in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia and New York. He spent the first seven years of his legal career doing defense work for the Federal Government and a Virginia insurance defense firm. He defended a wide variety of cases including personal injury cases, criminal matters, employment matters, medical malpractice cases, declaratory judgment actions, commercial cases and civil rights claims.
In 1995, after having tried numerous cases to verdict on behalf of insurance companies, Mr. Downey began representing Plaintiffs in civil litigation matters. Before opening up his own law office,
Mr.
Downey
was a partner at the national law firm of Robins Kaplan Miller and Ciresi,
LLP where he handled a variety of complex cases, including elder neglect, health care fraud, medical malpractice, personal injury and antitrust matters. As first chair, he tried the landmark case of
Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Massachusetts,
et
al.
v. Mylan
Labs, resulting in a 12 million dollar verdict (before trebling) against the defendants who
were
found
to
have
willfully restricted competition in the market of two popular anti-anxiety medications. He also tried to verdict various cases that have resulted in
exceptional verdicts for his clients. Mr. Downey was recently included on the Best Lawyer’s List in the Washingtonian Magazine for his work with victims of Elder Neglect.
An Educator and Advocate
Mr. Downey has been a staunch advocate for
elders in our long term care system. Having personal experience removing his own father from a long term care facility, he knows first-hand how these issues impact upon a family. He has devoted his personal time to helping educate families and elders in our long term care system about their rights. He has lectured to resident council groups in nursing homes. His clients have testified before the United States Congress to help educate our legislators about the prevalence of neglect in our long term care facilities. He has served on the Board of the Consumer Consortium of Assisted Living (CCAL) a non-profit education and advocacy organization dedicated solely to the needs, rights and protection of assisted living consumers and their loved ones. He is also a member of
the
National Citizen’s Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (NCCNHR), a National non-profit advocacy group for nursing home residents, that has been instrumental in influencing legislative policy for the benefit of our elders.
Mr. Downey also helps educate other attorneys about how to successfully handle elder neglect cases. He has provided continuing legal education to attorneys in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, all jurisdictions in which he actively practices. As a partner at Robins Kaplan he helped mentor younger associates in the art of trial practice. He has written
various articles to help educate both consumers and other attorneys about this important practice area.
Jurisdictions and Courts
Mr. Downey is admitted to practice in the following states and courts:
- Virginia
- West
Virginia
- District
of
Columbia
- Maryland
- New
York
- Federal
District
Court
for
the
Eastern
District
of
Virginia
- Federal
District
Court
for
the
District
of
Columbia
|
