Baltimore is a major city in Maryland with a long history as an important seaport. It is also the home of Ober|Kaler, a highly-regarded firm that became part of Baker Donelson in January 2017. The combination resulted in the third largest and most dynamic health practice in the country.
Since 1903, Ober|Kaler shared – and contributed to – the prosperity and history of the Mid-Atlantic region. Headquartered in Baltimore's downtown business district with the world-famous Inner Harbor as our backdrop, Ober|Kaler began with the practices of Albert C. Ritchie and Stuart S. Janney, two attorneys whose legacies are remembered today. Ritchie was elected governor of Maryland in 1920 and returned to the firm after an unprecedented four terms in office. After World War I, Frank B. Ober and Robert W. Williams joined the firm, which was then renamed Ritchie, Janney, Ober & Williams.
In 1969, the merger of Ober, Williams & Grimes, as the firm was then known, with Cross, Shriver, Bright & Washburne doubled our size and resulted in a new name: Ober, Grimes & Shriver. The period between 1969 and 1990 marked a time of moderate but deliberate growth in the number of lawyers at the firm, including a 1983 merger with an established Washington, D.C. practice that brought a national presence in tax, administrative, regulatory and corporate law, and provided essential new resources for the nationally expanding firm. In 2003, the firm sent its second governor to Annapolis, as Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. became the 60th governor of the State of Maryland.
Today, Baker Donelson's Baltimore-based health, litigation, business, construction and finance practices are among the most prominent in the United States. The office's 100-plus attorneys continue their vision of client service and our core values of quality, integrity, respect and commitment to our communities.
In 2022, the Baltimore office launched The Light of Baltimore Incubator at Baker Donelson, a partnership with Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, to support HopkinsLocal businesses and other area local small businesses. As part of the program, Baker Donelson donated the entire 23rd floor of its Baltimore office to a diverse group of 30 small Baltimore businesses in a wide variety of industries.
Baker Donelson's Baltimore office is located in the 100 Light Street Building (formerly the Transamerica Building). Visitors to our Baltimore office must show i.d. when entering the building. Download visitor information here.