Carl R. Schlaich

Born: Baltimore, Maryland, September 24, 1956

Education: Randolph-Macon College, B.S., Political Science/Computer Science, 1978, University of Baltimore, J.D., 1981

Practice Areas: Criminal Law; DUI/DWI; Drug Crimes; Juvenile Criminal Law; Traffic Violations; Personal Injury

Membership: Harford County and Maryland State Bar Associations; National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association (Member, Board of Directors, 1990-).

Admissions: 1981, Maryland; 1984, U.S. District Court, District of Maryland

Biography:

Carl R. Schlaich is the senior member of the firm and a well-known member of the criminal defense bar. Carl grew up in Baltimore County, where he graduated from Catonsville High School. He received his bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. During college, he played lacrosse and was a member of the volunteer fire company. Carl graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1981, and was admitted to the Maryland Bar that same year.

While in law school, Carl served on an internship in the juvenile court division of the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office and tried cases under the guidance of a staff prosecutor.

At the conclusion of his internship with the State’s Attorney’s Office, Carl was hired by the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) and assigned to clerk for attorneys representing mentally ill defendants, charged with violent crimes. A month after being admitted to the bar, he was assigned as co-counsel in a spousal homicide case where an insanity plea was pursued successfully. Carl was lead counsel to two death penalty cases, and was assigned to the legal team that represented the engineer blamed for the infamous train crash in Chase, Maryland. In 1989, the Baltimore Sun named Carl an “Unsung Hero” for defending difficult cases. He handled approximately two thousand criminal cases at the OPD.

When Carl left the Public Defender’s Office in 1990, he started a criminal defense practice in Bel Air. By 1992, the firm that would grow to become Schlaich & Thompson, Chartered, was born. Since that time, Carl has concentrated his practice on criminal defense and personal injury. Carl has appeared in the criminal courts in 16 Maryland counties, the United States District Court and the U.S. Army Courts Martial. He has secured major settlements for clients in wrongful death and malpractice cases. In 1999, Carl was nominated to the Governor as a potential judge.

Carl was elected to the Board of Directors of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney’s Association, and is a member of the Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association. He also serves on the Board of the Core Services Agency of Harford County.

Carl and his wife, Helen, live in Harford County.