Jessica P. Butkera is a partner in the firm’s Maryland (Metropolitan D.C.) office.  Her general litigation practice includes product liability, premises liability, professional liability, construction, motor vehicle/motor carrier and environmental toxic tort matters.

With her broad litigation experience and numerous accomplishments – she has tried nine jury trials and dozens of bench trials and obtained summary judgment seven times – Ms. Butkera handles complex lawsuits in Maryland and the District of Columbia for a wide range of clients in various industries including commercial properties, property management, hospitality, retail, amusement parks, stadiums, construction, automobile and trucking. She has extensive experience in all phases of litigation and works with her clients from the claim stage and onset of litigation through trial or settlement, coordinating their legal strategy, personally overseeing site and product inspections and managing all aspects of discovery, depositions, experts, motions, mediation, and trial.

Ms. Butkera is admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia, as well as the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

She is an active member of many legal and professional organizations, including the Maryland State Bar Association, Bar Association of Baltimore City, and the District of Columbia Bar and has served on the Board of Trustees of the Baltimore Bar Foundation since 2016.  She is also a member of Maryland Defense Counsel, Inc. and the National Association of Professional Women. 

Ms. Butkera maintains an AV-Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.  She was named to the Maryland Super Lawyers list in 2022 and 2023 after being listed as a Rising Star annually since 2013.  From 2018 to 2020, Ms. Butkera was selected to America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators and Top 100 High Stakes Litigators for Maryland.  In 2016, she was selected by The National Trial Lawyers for its Top 40 Under 40 list.

She received her B.A., cum laude, from The George Washington University in 2002 and her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2007.  While in law school, Ms. Butkera won the National Championship of the National Trial Competition and was an editor and published author of the Maryland Law Review.  Immediately following law school, she clerked for the Hon. Audrey J.S. Carrion in the Circuit Court of Baltimore City, Maryland.

Publications

“Maryland Adopts Daubert Standard,” (Author), CLM Magazine News and Updates, October 2020
“Marijuana Odor Not Sufficient for Search of Person,” (Author), CLM Magazine News and Updates, September 2020
“Sending Smoke Signals: What You Need to Know About Electronic Cigarettes, and Why They Are the Next Mass Tort,” (Author), CLM Magazine, November 2019
“Outbreak of Severe Pulmonary Disease Linked to E-Cigarette Use: The Makings of a Mass Tort?” (Co-Author), American Bar Association Mass Torts Litigation Newsletter – Winter 2020, October 24, 2019
“FDA Focuses on Youth E-Cigarette Use as Juul Comes Under Fire in Civil Litigation” (Co-Author), DRI Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Newsletter, Vol. 21, Issue 3, December 14, 2018
“Evidence Must Show What is Fact and What is Just Opinion” (Co-Author), American Bar Association Mass Torts Litigation Practice Point, September 4, 2018
“Taking and Defending Corporate Representative Depositions: A Primer” The Maryland Litigator, June 2018
“When the Vapors Clear — Potential Toxic Tort Litigation from E-Cigarettes,” The Baltimore Barrister, May 2017 (updated and republished in the American Bar Association Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Newsletter, Winter 2018; and the DRI Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Newsletter, Vol. 20, Issue 3, Fall 2017)
“Maryland Employers Lose Again: The Maryland Court of Appeals’ Interpretations of the Workers Compensation Act and Other Relevant Statutes,” Maryland Law Review, 2006

 Presentations

“Applying the Rules of Evidence: What Every Attorney Needs to Know” (Presenter), National Business Institute Seminar, Rockville, Maryland, October 25, 2019
“Advanced Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Law,” National Business Institute, Timonium, MD, September 27, 2018
Panelist, The University of Maryland School of Law, Judicial Clerkship Panel, 2011, 2013
Panelist, The University of Maryland School of Law, Small Firm Panel, 2009

 Webinars

“The Use of E-Cigarettes: Recent Updates from the CDC and Pending Litigation” (Presenter), GS Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Webinar, December 19, 2019
“The Evolution and Epidemic of E-Cigarettes” (Co-Presenter), GS Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Webinar, February 21, 2019

 Podcasts

Contributor, “Vape Pens: Toxic Time Bombs?,” Timely Notice, September 24, 2019

Recognitions & Seals