John Arthur Distel

What inspired me to enter into the legal field was a very complex. In 2010, I was the victim of a very heinous crime. A criminal defendant I had arrested and charged with burglary learned where my family and I lived. That defendant set a fire to the condominium building that I lived. My family and I were trapped on the the third floor. Thankfully, no one in the building was injured and for the most part the only thing destroyed was property. The agency I worked for suspected that I had a hand in the event, initially, and I was interviewed as if I was the suspect. While I had nothing to hide, after the fact, I realized that had I said anything incriminating I would have given all the ammunition necessary for my own people to charge me criminally. I returned to work to find over 35 case files sitting on my desk and four notices from our State's Attorney's Office notifying me that three robbery cases and a separate burlgary had been dismissed because I was 'unavailable for court'. 

I nearly quit the police department that day. However, I sat down and had a vision. I was going to show our elected State's Attorney that I could do their job better than anyone they could hire. Armed with only an associate's degree, I went back to school. I had unused VA benefits and I obtained my Bachelor's Degree. I started Graduate School and took the LSAT. I got into law school and transferred to the University of Baltimore. I used my time wisely at UB. I was a summer intern at the District Court of Frederick County, Maryland for the Hon. J. Oliver Cejka (Ret.). I was a law clerk at the Office of the Attorney General for Maryland. I was assigned to the Organized Crime Unit. I then served as a Rule 19 Student Attorney with the Howard County State's Attorney's Office. 

I practice in the fields of Personal Injury, Worker's Compensation, Family Law, and Estate Planning. 

Some of my hobbies are playing tennis, riding motorcycles, and bowling. I look forward to helping you navigate the legal process. Please visit my website: