David Gray Wright is an attorney in the firm’s labor and employment practice. He litigates on behalf of unions and their members in matters before Maryland’s courts, the National Labor Relations Board, administrative agencies, and in the federal courts. Mr. Wright also counsels unions with regard to negotiations, legislative matters, and compliance issues. Mr. Wright represents unions in interest and grievance arbitrations. Mr. Wright also represents individuals in employment disputes such as wage payment actions, claims for overtime, and actions to enforce statutory rights including Family and Medical Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act. He represents employees who have been retaliated against for protected concerted activity or for whistle-blowing. In addition, Mr. Wright counsels professionals regarding employment contracts and workplace rights. He advises individuals about severance packages, separation agreements, and releases, to assess any severance offered and any rights waived. Mr. Wright regularly appears before Maryland’s appellate courts. He was on brief in Atkinson, et al. v. Anne Arundel County, 428 Md. 723, 53 A.3d 1184 (2012), a decision that settled thirty-five years of uncertainty regarding binding interest arbitration in Maryland counties. He was also on brief in Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35 v. Montgomery Cnty., 436 Md. 1, 80 A.3d 686 (2013), an election law case concerning petitions for referendum. In 2018, he prevailed in a First Amendment action against Ocean City, Maryland filed on behalf of performers and artists who perform on the Town’s boardwalk – Christ v. Town of Ocean City, Maryland, 312 F. Supp. 3d 465 (D. Md. 2018). He has argued cases before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals regarding State employee rights and collective bargaining issues. Mr. Wright graduated with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law. While in law school, he interned in the offices of then-Representative Ben Cardin, the Office of the Attorney General (General Assembly Counsel), and the chambers of Judge Clayton Greene, Jr. of the Court of Appeals of Maryland. Mr. Wright also served an Asper Fellowship with the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, under the supervision of Judge Edward R.K. Hargadon. Following law school, Mr. Wright clerked for Judge Patrick L. Woodward of the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. He then served as a Research Fellow at the University of Maryland School of Law. Mr. Wright sat on the Board of the Maryland Lawyers for the Arts . He also sat on the Board of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute Foundation and Alumni Association. Mr. Wright formerly served as the President of the Charles Village Community Benefits District and the Charles Village Community Foundation. In May 2005, Mr. Wright testified before the United States House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug, Policy, and Human Resources on the role of communities in witness intimidation. Mr. Wright lives in Charles Village. He is a proud graduate of Baltimore City Public Schools (Poly ’94).
Bar Admissions
- Court of Appeals of Maryland
- United States District Court for the District of Maryland
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- Supreme Court of the United States
Education
- University of Maryland Baltimore County (BA)
- University of Maryland School of Law (JD, Cum Laude)
Activities
- Board of Directors for the AFL-CIO Lawyers’ Coordinating Committee (2017-20)
- Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
- Baltimore City Bar Association
- Maryland State Bar Association
Recognitions
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in:
- Labor Law – Union
- Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Listed among Maryland Rising Stars as assembled by SuperLawyers – 2013 through 2018
