John R. Grimm is an experienced trial and appellate litigator.

A former Assistant Attorney General for the Maryland Attorney General’s Office Civil Litigation Division, John represents clients in federal and state courts at all stages of litigation.

He has served as lead counsel in civil cases in both federal and state trial courts, and has tried numerous criminal cases in Maryland state courts. John has argued in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Fourth Circuit and the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, and authored briefs in more than a dozen appeals, including cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals around the country, and the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

Civil, Criminal & Administrative Appeals

• Argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on behalf of a non-profit organization challenging a decision by the Copyright Royalty Board.
• Argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on behalf of an indigent criminal defendant challenging his conviction.
• Represented an entertainment company defending a jury verdict in its favor on appeal.
• Successfully represented a large communications company in an appeal challenging the FCC’s decision to give a contract.

Litigation & Investigations

• Represented a national entertainment company in a lawsuit seeking unpaid royalties under a licensing agreement, resulting in the jury awarding the client 100% of the damages it sought.
• Represented a major telecommunications company in a consolidated multi-district lawsuit, including drafting an opposition to consolidation by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

During his time as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Maryland, John handled many prominent cases involving novel issues of law:

• Served as the principal author of petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court in a case presenting novel Commerce Clause questions over a Maryland statute prohibiting price gouging for generic prescription drugs.
• Successfully defended a federal lawsuit raising a question of first impression over whether non-residents have a First Amendment right to access the Maryland list of registered voters, and authoring the appellate brief urging affirmance.
• Negotiated the settlement of federal First Amendment lawsuit challenging regulation banning political solicitation in outdoor square near State House in Annapolis.
• Represented the State Board of Elections in lawsuit by gubernatorial candidate seeking a declaratory ruling regarding eligibility to run for office.
• Authored amicus briefs on behalf of Maryland in the U.S. Supreme Court, the District of Maryland, and the District of Columbia in cases involving the First Amendment, administrative procedure, and the 2020 Census.

John is the vice-chair of the section council of the Maryland State Bar Association’s administrative law section; a member of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys’ Association’s amicus committee; and a contributing author to the Maryland Appellate Blog. He has served as an adjunct professor of evidence at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, and devoted significant time as an attorney advisor to a public high school participating in the D.C. Circuit Historical Society’s Mock Court program.

Earlier in his career, John served as an assistant public defender in Baltimore County, Maryland where he represented hundreds of clients charged with offenses ranging from minor traffic violations to first-degree murder.