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Portner & Shure

Testmonials

Dear Mr.Ruby, Mr. Shure, Mrs. Horseman and Mrs. Linton: I would like to express my appreciation to your professional support and guidance during the 3 overwhelming years. I was involved in a car accident. Mr. Shure came to my home and provided assistance the day after the accident. Then, your paralegals, Sandy and Dawn assisted me on each steps and kept me updated. Mr. Ruby answered my questions and phone calls. He tried and settled my case successfully. Your team professional services is the key in the success of my case. I will recommend your firm to my friend Thanks again!

-Lisa Zhang
I got into a really bad car accident and had no clue what to do. Luckily I called Portner & Shure. Thanks to them I did not have to experience the stress of talking to the insurance company's, or the hassle of gathering additional information about my case. Portner & Shure did it all. They handled all of my medical bills, and even provided a convenient chiropractor that was amazing and made me feel like myself again. They also offered a settlement that I was very pleased with.The staff were friendly and respectful. My questions were answered promptly and in great detail. I felt like I was in good hands throughout the entire process Portner & Shure is top notch. They exceeded my expectations. I recommend this law firm to anyone who refuse to settle for less.. Thanks again Portner & Shure for making this tragic experience a stress-free process and providing a satisfying result.

Jessica Tabron, Montgomery County, MD
First of all I thank God to be alive and I thank you for helping me with my case. God bless you all. It was a great pleasure. Thanks.

Angel Regina Reyes de Hernandez
Pam Brown was the paralegal that was handling my case. She was wonderful. She was always pleasant to speak with on the phone and she always kept me updated on my case. I think her professionalism is a testament to the entire team of Portner and Shure. Thank you guys for everything. Jun Jie Liu

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Attorney Information

Richard Shure, Esquire - rshure@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 102

(pictured on the left)

Mr. Shure has been an attorney licensed to practice in Maryland since 1991 and Virginia since 1995. He represents injured clients in matters of Personal Injury, including motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, and workers' compensation.

Mr. Shure graduated from the University of Maryland as three time ACC academic all-American. He was a running back for the Terps football team. He then stayed in this area, first graduating from Georgetown University Law School, then worked as in-house counsel for a National Health Care Corporation.

He has used the knowledge he gained in the health care industry to help persuade insurance companies to provide our injured clients with additional benefits. He has successfully negotiated claims to the satisfaction of thousands of injured clients over the past fifteen years.

His philosophy, stemming from his football days, is to cut no corners, and push aggressively on each automobile accident and medical malpractice claim. The philosophy has resulted in the successful negotiation of millions of dollars in client recoveries each year.

Jonathan N. Portner, Esquire - jportner@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 103

(pictured on the right)

Mr. Portner has been an attorney licensed to practice in Maryland and Washington, D.C. since 1988. He represents clients in matters of personal injury, including motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, and workers' compensation. He also spends a considerable amount of time in Court representing criminal defendants.

As a young lawyer, Mr. Portner worked to obtain a million dollar verdict from a District of Columbia Superior Court Jury. Recently, he along with Kevin Ruby, has litigated or settled three (3) different cases each netting approximately one million dollars. Most attorneys do not obtain these results during the course of their entire careers.

Mr. Portner supervises the claims and litigation departments of the law firm. He gained considerable experience as a young attorney clerking for the Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals and then as a litigator for one of Baltimore's largest law firms. Since then, over the past sixteen years, he has represented thousands of clients in and out of the Court room for Portner and Shure.

Mr. Portner has tried and won hundreds of cases against some of the top insurance defense attorneys and prosecutors in both State and Federal Courts throughout the region. His current responsibilities include negotiating with adjusters and working with Mr. Ruby in large cases. In each of the last four (4) years, he has recovered approximately nine million dollars for his clients, and nearly fifty million over the last six (6) years.

Mr. Portner is eligible to join the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He is a member of the American Association for Justice and the Maryland Association for Justice.

His philosophy with insurance companies is to be aggressive, but fair. He is a black belt in Tai Kwon Do, and in addition to practicing law spends a considerable amount of time working and traveling with his son, who is currently ranked in the top fifty (50) in the United States as a tennis player in boys 14s, as well as his oldest daughter, a top high school tennis player, and his youngest daughter a Maryland Cobra Travel Lacrosse player and Heros Club Lax player.

Mr. Portner dedicates considerable time to all of his endeavors but believes each Personal Injury or Criminal case should be treated as if it’s the only case of the firm. He believes he has obtained millions of dollars in recoveries for accident victims each year because of his attention to detail, and insistence that his staff have constant communication with all accident, injury, immigration, and malpractice clients.

Kevin A. Ruby, Esquire - kruby@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 115

Mr. Ruby received his undergraduate degree from Brown University in 1994. He graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1997, after receiving the William H. Wallace Award for excellence in litigation skills and being selected as a national member of The Order of Barristers for excellence in courtroom advocacy.

Following law school, Mr. Ruby was admitted to the Virginia State Bar, and worked as an associate attorney for the law firm of Redmon, Boykin & Braswell. While there, he provided litigation services for federal and state cases both at the trial and appellate levels. The areas of practice included personal injury, RICO and anti trust claims, and federal claims for the Department of Risk Management.

In 1999, Mr. Ruby joined Portner & Shure, P.A. as a litigation associate and shortly thereafter was admitted to the Maryland State Bar. Mr. Ruby has successfully tried and settled cases involving motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, assaults, contract disputes, and work related accidents throughout Maryland and Virginia. He regularly handles felonies and misdemeanors, in state and federal court.

Mr. Ruby is currently a Litigation Partner with Portner & Shure, P.A., and in that position has been able to obtain maximum results in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. Mr. Ruby's representations have resulted in millions of dollars in recoveries for his clients. Mr. Ruby regularly appears in more than a dozen state and federal jurisdictions throughout Virginia and Maryland.

Chuck Kable

Mr. Kable is an associate in Portner & Shure's Texas office where he also serves as General Counsel for Cardon Healthcare Network, Inc. Mr. Kable has been an attorney licensed in Michigan since 2000, and he is currently in the admission process for the state of Texas.

blank After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in economics, Mr. Kable attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School where he served as associate editor of Cooley's Law Review. After graduating from law school with honors, he began his career in a private law firm, practicing in one of the most competitive and challenging legal markets in the United States - the metropolitan Detroit area.

Mr. Kable is a seasoned litigator, who has handled hundreds of personal injury lawsuits from start to finish. After honing his skills working for one of the most successful mid-sized private law firms in Michigan, Chuck accepted a position at State Farm representing the company and its insureds in cases involving subrogation, personal injury, commercial business disputes, insurance coverage, and fraud. Most recently, Mr. Kable served as counsel for a healthcare subrogation company where he advised CFO's and other health plan executives in all aspects of health plan cost containment, including plan language analysis, as well as third party liability recoveries, and subrogation.

As a former insurance defense attorney, Mr. Kable brings a unique perspective to dealing with insurance companies and adjusters.

Francine L. Applewhite, Esquire - fapplewhite@portnerandshure.com

Francine Applewhite Ms. Applewhite serves as Of Counsel with the firm focusing her practice on Immigration law. In more than 20 years of practice she has represented clients both nationally and internationally in all areas of Immigration. She is licensed to practice in Maryland and Massachusetts.

Because of her personal experience as an immigrant, Ms. Applewhite combines qualities her clients admire: an immigrant’s work ethic, an entrepreneur’s drive, an unshakeable desire for a positive solution and compassion for those seeking the American dream. In the 1970's, Ms. Applewhite immigrated to the United States, specifically the State of Maryland. She received dual undergraduate degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her law degree from the University of Maryland, School of Law, in 1988.

In addition to helping hundreds of immigrants become permanent residents, obtain work authorization, pursue their education, and attain U.S. citizenship, Ms. Applewhite has served as a Commissioner in the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County. She has made numerous presentations on Immigration law to professional associations and civic groups. She has served as President and Vice President of the Women’s Attorney Association, and as Clerk, Board of Directors of the legal services and counseling center.

Ms. Applewhite knows that those seeking her Immigration services need sound advice and guidance.

Meet our staff

Beatriz (Elizabeth) Bermudez, Paralegal - ebermudez@portnerandshure.com telephone extension 122

Born in El Salvador, and coming to this Country while just 14 years old speaking no English, Elizabeth has an idea how hard it can be for Spanish speaking accident victims, or criminal defendants, to be treated fairly because of the language barrier. Through years of hard work, Elizabeth worked up to a Paralegal position at Portner & Shure, and currently handles a busy automobile accident case load.

She continually strives for the best results for both her clients and herself. In fact, although Elizabeth works for the firm full-time, she is currently enrolled in college classes. Elizabeth initially came to the firm with the desire to “help people”, and has since helped thousands of Spanish speaking accident victims. Her compassion and tenacity is an asset to all our her clients, as well as Portner & Shure.

Pam Brown, Paralegal - pbrown@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 111

Pam Brown has been with Portner & Shure, P.A. since March of 2004. Pam has over 16 years of experience as a Personal Injury and Workers’ Compensation paralegal, with extensive knowledge in handling a wide variety of personal injury claims involving death, severe head injury, herniations of the spine, rotator cuff tears, carpal tunnel, amputations and burn injuries. She is noted for her attention to detail and her close relationships with her clients. Her compassion for her clients has been a great asset to the firm. It has enabled her to obtain successful and favorable results, totaling over several million dollars for her clients. She has been successful in recovering thousands of personal injury settlements and workers’ compensation awards for her personal injury clients. Numerous clients return to Portner & Shure, P.A. when involved in subsequent accidents and specifically ask that Pam be assigned to their cases as they were extremely satisfied with the handling of their prior claims. In addition, many of her prior clients continue to refer friends and family to Portner & Shure for handling of their personal injury claims.

Laura De La Cruz - ldelacruz@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 107
Wendy Flores, Secretary - wflores@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 112
Norma Guevara, Paralegal - nguevara@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 117

Sandy Horseman - shorseman@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 104

Sandy Horseman joined Portner and Shure, P.A. in May 2004. She has over twenty-one years of extensive experience working as a paralegal handling complex personal injury claims, including, but not limited to wrongful death, brain traumas, internal injuries, herniated discs, shoulder impingements, carpal tunnel, etc. she has handled thousands of automobile accident cases, as well as medical malpractice and nursing home cases. Her accident settlements have ranged between $500,000.00 to over a $1,000,000.00. She has a wide array of experience in dealing with liability issues with insurance companies and resolving accident liability disputes in favor of her clients. Beyond that she has been successful in getting huge medicare liens drastically reduced, in addition to health insurance liens in order to secure a more favorable outcomes for her injured clients. She is very resourceful and aggressive in getting all issues resolved quickly and favorably for her clients.

Dawn Linton, Litigation Paralegal - dlinton@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 105

Christiana (Christie) Rowland, Paralegal - crowland@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 116

Christie is one of the most experienced personal injury paralegals in the Baltimore/Washington area. She joined Portner and Shure in 2005 bringing extensive experience in the handling of automobile claims as well as Workers’ Compensation claims. She holds a Degree in Paralegal Studies. Christie’s ability to handle a high volume of cases while maintaining a close working relationship with her clients has proven to be a great asset to our clients and our firm. She has been responsible for over several million dollars in recoveries.

Christie is a long standing resident of Frederick County, Maryland and has been instrumental in maintaining our Frederick clientele. She is respected by many of the doctors, chiropractors, and bodyshops in the area. Her volunteer work has made her known amongst the community.

Christie has vast experience with dealing with the Subsequent Injury Fund and Uninsured Employer’s Fund. She works closely with both Mr. Portner and Mr. Ruby in the litigation process and has prepared hundreds of cases for trial.

Sarah Sadler, Firm Operations Manager - ssadler@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 108

Keeping a law office running that routinely recovers over $9,000,000 in awards for accident victims, represents criminal defendants in jurisdictions throughout Maryland and Virginia on a daily basis and now serves persons with Bankruptcy and Immigration matters, is no easy task. After implementing Needles in 2002, www.needles.com, Sarah took the firm to a new way of handling personal injury cases using the leading technology on legal case management. She has provided not only the attorneys, but also the staff, with today's cutting edge technology. In addition, the firm and clients have benefited from Sarah adding direct links to the Workers’ Compensation Commission and direct emails from each of our Paralegal's desks to most insurance adjusters desks. Sarah is also responsible for maintaining the U.S. District Court for the District Court of Maryland and Superior Court for the District of Columbia Electronic Case Filing (ECF) System. Sarah stays in tune with all the current ECF News from the Nation’s Capitol.

Fortunately, with twenty years experience, and sixteen years with Portner & Shure, Sarah understands what is needed to make the firm attentive to clients needs and competitive in the marketing place.

In her position as Director of Firm Operations her focus is ensuring that Portner & Shure hires and retains the best possible staff. In November 2008, Sarah was responsible for the launching of our Houston, Texas office. Since Sarah worked up to this position she has personally handled thousands of claims and litigation cases and understands what is required to obtain excellent results.

As Director of Marketing she works with the heads of different firm divisions, and oversees the placement of monthly advertising and search engine optimization.

Her aggressive style has aided the firm in obtaining millions of dollars in past awards.

Lily Wassif, Paralegal - lwassif@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 114

Lily Wassif has been with Portner & Shure since its inception. She is a college graduate who in addition to English, speaks Mandarin Chinese, Shanghai Dialect, JiangXi Dialect, and Chinese North-East Dialect. She has numerous responsibilities as the Paralegal and Marketing Director in charge of our Chinese division. Lily always maintains a high volume of accident claims involving Chinese speaking clients. In fact, she has handled thousands of claims for persons in the Chinese Community over the last fifteen (15) years. Further, she had aided our Litigation Department obtain verdicts in both State and Federal Courts. Her thorough investigations and aggressive approach for her Chinese speaking clients has often tipped the balance in favor of many of our clients even when they spoke absolutely no English. Her efforts alone have resulted in millions of dollars in recoveries for Chinese accident victims

Lily’s first large case with the firm was a bus case, Song Z. Chen vs. Peter Pan Bus Company. Mr. Chen was ejected from a bus after an accident on Interstate 95. While the accident itself was horrific, Mr. Chen recovered from his injuries, and was left with minimal permanent leg damage. Nevertheless, Lily and Mr. Portner were able to convey to the carrier how the accident would impact Mr. Chen’s life. He was a non-English speaking immigrant who worked as a Chinese cook. Standing for hours was required for his job, and standing he now did in severe pain for long periods of time and with increased difficulty. The case settled for $550,000.

Another noteworthy case that Lily and Mr. Portner litigated was Lin vs. Costco, in Federal Court in Alexandria Virginia. Mr. Lin slipped and fell on a cord while shopping in Costco. The carrier of course argued that Mr. Lin, who was in his seventies, was negligent for not seeing the cord. Mr. Lin sustained a fractured hip, but did not treat much after the initial hospital stay. His damages totaled $7,000. Mr. Lin spoke no English and the offer prior to trial was zero. Lily aided Mr. Portner in conveying to the Jury through an interpreter that Mr. Lin’s advanced age was not a reason to discount the verdict, rather a reason to help him since the negligence of the Defendant deprived Mr. Lin of being active in his golden years. He went from a very active seventy year old man, who for example walked everywhere each day, to someone who preferred to do nothing. The Jury found the Defendant, Costco, Co., negligent and awarded $275,000 in damages.

Portner & Shure, and our clients have been fortunate to have Lily Wassif on their team representing Chinese accident victims.

Rosanna Yap, Receptionist/Secretary - ryap@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 100

Rosanna Yap has been the “voice” of the firm since 2001. Rosanna is the first point of contact for all of our clients and understands how important it is to get our clients issues resolved immediately. She is bilingual, speaking both English and Mandarin Chinese. Rosanna understands what it means to work hard, and will ensure that you will find the attorney or Paralegal you need immediately. At Portner & Shure, we realize the importance of communication between our clients, staff, and attorneys. As a result, for nearly the last ten years we have given that sole responsibility to Rosanna. Interestingly, Rosanna’s parents owned a Chinese food restaurant many years ago. She and Mr. Portner met while she was toiling as a delivery person, hostess, and front desk person in the family business. We and our clients have been fortunate to have her as part of the Portner & Shure family ever since.

Jane Wu - jwu@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 109

Esther You, Paralegal - eyou@portnerandshure.com - telephone extension 110

Accident Lawyers in Maryland, Virginia & Washington DC

For over fifteen years the attorneys at Portner & Shure have been representing victims injured in automobile accidents. You may request a free consultation with our personal injury accident lawyers in Maryland, Virginia & Washington D.C., to make sure you get the benefits you are entitled to.

Maryland, Virginia & Washington DC Immigration Lawyers

Do you have an immigration issue? Contact our law firm today for a free case evaluation. Want to learn more? Read our online resources: