Meet the Business Lawyers Attorney in Baltimore, Maryland

Meet Craig F. Ballew

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00:04
my practice area is labor and employment
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law
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i’m working on a daily basis with
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clients
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trying to advise them in a whole
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spectrum of subjects
00:14
that they’re struggling with many of
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these are very small organizations that
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do not have a
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substantial infrastructure such as a
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human resources department
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however a number of them are quite
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sophisticated some of them are
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governmental agencies and so what we
00:29
have to do
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is we have to be sure that they’re aware
00:32
not of where the law was
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two years ago maybe the last time they
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dealt with an issue but where the law is
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now
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one of the things that i find uh
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interesting challenging about labor and
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employment law is it is
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an evolving practice area i’ve been
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involved in one way or another for over
00:49
40 years
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and it has changed constantly and i will
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continue to change
00:55
as we move forward that’s hard on
00:57
clients and it’s our job to work with
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them
01:00
to try and make sure they understand
01:01
those changes and incorporate them
01:04
into their decisions
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the most rewarding part of my practice
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for me is working with clients
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when they have to make difficult
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decisions i enjoy working with
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the individuals it’s in many industries
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they come with a lot of skill sets but
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usually
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understanding labor and employment law
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is not a part of their skill sets
01:30
i see it as a need to get to them
01:34
to be responsive to them in a timeliness
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manner
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to listen to their issue because not
01:40
every case is cookie cutter and you need
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to understand the nuances
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then to give them advice that is
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to use the phrase straight down the
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middle that does not
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try and shade shaded in a way i think
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maybe they want to hear sometimes
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it’s important for them to hear from me
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uh
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that there is a problem with what
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they’re thinking of doing and
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often i don’t think that’s a surprise to
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them i think sometimes they’re already
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foreseeing that
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they just want to bounce it off someone
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who’s got a little more experience in an
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area to see whether or not they get the
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green light or the red light
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and then frankly making sure once they
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have that
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they understand it’s a business decision
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that they have to make
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service to the community is something
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that i think is
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important for everyone not just
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attorneys and one of the things i
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recognize
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early in my career is not every firm
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takes that seriously
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and some firms that claim they do don’t
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in fact take it seriously i’ve been
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fortunate
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here to have worked with individuals
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who have committed themselves to the
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community to the bar association
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for me that’s been a substantial part of
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my practice my my experience over the
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last
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30 years two things that i am
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particularly proud of
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is the opportunity to work with the
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maryland state bar association committee
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on laws
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this is a committee that meets in the
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winter months
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it is comprised of judges district court
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circuit court
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appellate court judges and attorneys
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with certain practice areas
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addressing issues of legislation and
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their relevance to the state bar
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association
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that has been very intellectually
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stimulating and challenging
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and rewarding and i have enjoyed it
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immensely
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secondly i’ve had a great
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opportunity to work with an organization
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called the maryland school for the blind
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my relationship began with them in the
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early 80s and has continued
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to evolve versus council and then as a
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member of their board of trustees
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now coming back to the board these are
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young men and women
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who are really benefited
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by the service that the people at the
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maryland school for the blind provide
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and being able to see that being able to
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help in a small way on the board
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has been of a very rewarding experience
04:10
for me

Baltimore, MD labor & unemployment lawyer Craig F. Ballew shares the philosophy that guides his work as well as the most rewarding aspect of his practice.

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