Kirk Kolodner

Kirk Kolodner is a trial lawyer with 35 years of trial experience in divorce, family law, custody, alimony, domestic violence, marital separation, marital agreements, guardianship and related ares. He has been practicing law in Maryland since 1980. His practice areas include family and dicorce law, estate and trust litigation, and general civil litigation. As a trial attorney, Mr. Kolodner asserts his client's interests aggressively, but he is aware of the costs and risks involved in litigation. He has significant experience strategizing and analyzing litigation issues, and he handles all aspects of litigation from investigation, negotiation, pre-trial discovery and motions, to the trial and appeal. O the hundreds of cases he has handled, a few stand out:

• In a nine day trial in Baltimore County, he successfully represented a woman in obtaining custody of her five year old daughter, even though his client, the mother, had denied the father access to the child by going "underground" for two years out of fear that the child's father had sexually abused the child. The judge found that the mother's actions in denying the father access to his daughter had been justified.

• Representing the owner of an apartment building in Montgomery County, he successfully sued to force the purchaser of the building to consummate the multi-million dollar sale.

• Mr. Kolodner obtained a significant jury verdict in Baltimore City for injuries his client, a judge, sustained in a car accident.

• In a case in Harford County, he successfully forced a bank, as a tenant, to pay $500,000 to his client, the landlord, by proving that the bank's merger with another bank violated the lease, thereby allowing the farmer/landlord to re-negotiate the lease with the tenant/bank at a much higher rent.

• In a real estate dispute, he successfully defended a suit brought by the holder of a "right of first refusal" who sought to purchase his client's 92 acre Potomac, Maryland horse farm, thereby enabling his client to sell the land to another party at a much higher price.

• In a family law dispute, he established new law by convincing the Maryland appeallate court that his client's $80,000 country club membership was not "marital property" and should not have been considered by the trial judge as an asset in the divorce case because the membership could not be sold, transferred or pledged under the country club's rules.

• After forcing the removal of the personal representative of an estate who had neglected his duties, Mr. Kolodner successfully sued the personal representative on behalf of the estate beneficiaries and recovered substantial money.

• In a suit involving the validity of an adult adoption proceeding, he successfully represented a brother and sister, who had been adopted as adults by their older half-brother. As a result of the adult adoption, they succeeded in inheriting many millions of dollars from the estate of their half-brother's long-deceased grandfather even though they were not related by blood to the grandfather.
• Following an 11 day trial in Baltimore County involving marital property issues, a 5000 square foot home, alimony, child support and numerous other issues, he succeeded in saving his client, a physican, millions of dollars.
• He has recovered millions of dollars in product liability cases from the manufacturer of forklifts which caused death and severe injury. 

Mr. Kolodner has served as a volunteer attorney for the Maryland Volunteer Lawyer's Service, representing low income clients in Baltimore City on a pro-bono basis.  

He co-founded Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, and he has served on the Board of Directors of several community organizations.

For more than 25 years he has served as legal counsel, on a pro bono basis, for Leaning Independence Through Computers (now known as V-LINC). V-LINC, a non-profit, provides technological solutions  to improve independence  and quality of life for individuals of all ages with disabilities. 

He also has served as President of the Mount Washington Swimming Club, Inc. in Baltimore City.  

He currently serves on the Board of Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation (GEDCO), which  provides afforable housing, supportive services, and emergency assitance to seniors and low income residents of Baltimore City.

He currently is a pro bono volunteer attorney for Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), representing immigrants seeking custody of their minor children who have fled Central American countries as a result of abuse, neglect and other dangers.

He also serves as a volunteer mediator for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City helping litigants settle their family law disputes.