Robert B. Hetherington

Bob was born in Washington, D.C. in 1960 and lived in Texas, Georgia and Hawaii before returning to the Washington Metropolitan Area on a permanent basis in 1974. He attended Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Wheaton, Maryland, and completed his undergraduate studies at Mt. St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he was graduated magna cum laude in 1982. In 1985, he received his law degree from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Starting in his first year of law school, Bob clerked for McCarthy Wilson in Rockville, Maryland. Upon graduating from Catholic University, he served a one-year clerkship for The Honorable William C. Miller, Associate Justice of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. He returned to the firm as an associate in 1986 and became a partner in 1994. He is admitted to practice in the State of Maryland, the District of Columbia and several Federal Courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States. Bob has tried over 140 jury trials to verdict throughout the State of Maryland, the District of Columbia and in the Federal Courts of Maryland and D.C.

Bob is very active in the Montgomery County Bar Association and has served on its Executive Committee as its Treasurer, as an at-large member, and as Chairman of the Nominations and Elections, Circuit Court Bench Bar and Administration of Justice Committees. He has also lectured for the Montgomery County Continuing Legal Education Program offering instruction on Deposition and Trial Techniques. Under the Circuit Court Differentiated Case Management Program in Montgomery County, he has served as a mediator.

Outside of his profession, he has served on the President’s Council of Mt. St. Mary’s College and as Chair of the Parents’ Club of Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland. An avid golfer, Bob enjoys all sports. He is active in various area athletic associations and has coached baseball, basketball and soccer. Other interests include hunting and boating. Bob and his wife, Marlena, are the proud parents of five sons, Bobby, Brian, Sean, Kyle and Billy. They currently reside in Rockville, Maryland.

Memberships and Awards

• Montgomery County Bar Association [Treasurer – Montgomery County Bar Foundation; Special Appointment – Member, Transition Committee; Treasurer – BAMC; Assistant Treasurer – Montgomery County Bar Foundation; Treasurer- Elect – BAMC; Committee Chair – Nominations and Elections Committee; Poll Captain, Committee to Retain the Sitting Judges of Montgomery County, Maryland; Executive Committee; Bar Leader, Montgomery County Maryland Bar Foundation; Special Appointment – Member, Committee on Committees; Committee Chair – Administration of Justice Committee; Committee Chair – Circuit Court Bench Bar Committee; Member, District Court Bench-Bar Committee; Member, Personal Injury Litigation Section; CLE Lecturer on Trial and Deposition Techniques.]
• Maryland State Bar Association
• District of Columbia Bar Association
• American Association for Justice (formerly ATLA) (Associate Member)
• Guest lecturer on Trial Techniques/Tactics, MSBA Annual Meeting (2004)
• Delta Mu Delta
• Monsignor Tierney Honor Society
• George Henry Miles Honor Society
• Guest Speaker, “Legal Consequences of Underage Drinking”, Parents’ Club of Georgetown Preparatory School, North Bethesda, Maryland
• Chair, Parents’ Club of Georgetown Preparatory School, North Bethesda, Maryland (2003 – 2005)
• Class Networking Representative, Parents’ Club of Georgetown Preparatory School, North Bethesda, Maryland (2000 - 2003)
• Member, President’s Council of Mt. St. Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, Maryland (2000 – 2004)
• Maryland Super Lawyers 2007

Reported Cases

• Bailer v. Erie Insurance Exchange, 344 Md. 515, 687 A.2d 1375 (1997)
• Horace Mann Ins. Co. v. Worthy, 90 Md.App. 273, 600 A.2d 1151 (1992)