Carl R. Schlaich is the senior member of the firm and a well-known member of the criminal defense bar. He grew up in Baltimore County, where he graduated from Catonsville High School. Carl 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 who had been 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 Bel Air lawyer Carl an ?Unsung Hero? for defending difficult cases. He handled approximately two thousand criminal cases at the OPD.
When Carl left the OPD 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 U.S. District Court and in courts-martial proceedings for the U.S. Army. He has secured major settlements for clients in wrongful death and malpractice cases. Carl has been nominated to the Governor as a potential judge on six occasions since 1999.
Carl was elected to the Board of Directors of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney's Association and is a member of the National Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He has served two terms on the Board of the Core Services Agency of Harford County.
Carl and his wife, Helen, live in Harford County.
Criminal law
DUI/DWI
Drug crimes
Juvenile criminal law
Traffic violations
Personal injury
Maryland, 1981
U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, 1984
BV? Distinguished? Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell? ? a widely respected mark of achievement signifying quality legal work, professionalism and solid ethical standards
Fellow, Maryland Bar Foundation
J.D., University of Baltimore, 1981
B.S., Randolph-Macon College, Political Science/Computer Science, 1978
Past President, Harford County Bar Association
Maryland State Bar Association, Board of Governors 2018-2020
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association
Board of Directors, 1990?present
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