John T. Sly is an attorney and partner at Waranch & Brown. His practice focuses on the defense of physicians, health care facilities, and other businesses throughout Maryland.
Mr. Sly is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell — the highest rating for attorneys. He has been ranked by Chambers and Associates as “Outstanding” for his “methodical, detailed and forceful” approach. Mr. Sly has also been elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). In addition, Baltimore Magazine and Maryland Super Lawyers Magazine have identified Mr. Sly as a “Super Lawyer” in the field of medical malpractice defense every year since 2009. Mr. Sly was elected to the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (“FDCC”) in 2020.
Since becoming an attorney, Mr. Sly has served on the Executive Board of the Maryland Defense Counsel (“MDC”), Maryland’s civil defense bar association, and served as MDC‘s President during 2018 – 2019. In 2020, Mr. Sly received the DRI Fred H. Sievert Award for his work while President of MDC. He is also actively involved with the American Board of Trial Advocates (“ABOTA”), the Maryland State Bar Association, the Defense Research Institute and the MD-DC Society for Healthcare Risk Management. In 2021, Mr. Sly began a 3 year term as DRI’s State Representative to Maryland.
Mr. Sly has lectured on various legal and medico-legal topics at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Brigham & Women’s Hospital (Harvard), the University of Maryland Medical School, the University of Maryland Law School, and the University of Baltimore Law School.
Mr. Sly graduated with honors in 1996 from Albany Law School of Union University where he served as Associate Editor of the Albany Law Review and was inducted into the Justinian Society, The Order of the Barristers, and received the Robert Barker Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Moot Court Program. He received his undergraduate degree with honors from the State University of New York at Albany where he served as President of the Political Science Association.
Prior to entering the legal profession, Mr. Sly co-founded and managed a political marketing and consulting firm, The Empire Campaign Strategies Group, Inc. (d/b/a “The Empire Group”) which was awarded the Silver Microphone Award for Outstanding Political Campaign advertisement. He also worked in the United States House of Representatives for Congressman Benjamin Gilman and the New York State Legislature on the Committee on Insurance.
Professional Activities
- Maryland Defense Counsel (“MDC”), President, 2018 – 2019
- Maryland Defense Counsel (“MDC”), President-Elect, 2017 – 2018
- Maryland Defense Counsel (“MDC”), Secretary, 2015 – 2017
- Maryland Defense Counsel (“MDC”), Executive Branch Liaison, 2008 – Present
- Maryland Defense Counsel (“MDC”), Judicial Selections Committee Chairman, Maryland Defense Counsel (“MDC”) 2008 – 2013
- Member, Committee on Laws, Maryland State Bar Association (“MSBA”) 2011 – 2015
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) 2014 – Present
Publications
- “Telemedicine: Welcome to the Future,” Maryland Defense Counsel, The Defense Line, Spring 2020
- “The Long Hand of Medicaid,” Maryland Defense Counsel, The Defense Line, Spring 2017.
- “Health Care Provider Who?” Maryland Defense Counsel, The Defense Line, Spring 2015.
- “Leveraging Communication Technology to Reduce Litigation Costs,” Maryland Defense Counsel, The Defense Line, January 2012.
- “Don’t Take Their Word For It — Attack the Plaintiffs’ Expert,” Maryland Defense Counsel, The Defense Line, January 2011.
- “Hospitals are Not the Insurer of Last Resort,” Maryland Defense Counsel, The Defense Line, Winter 2010.
- “Challenging Plaintiff’s Causation Expert,” Maryland Defense Counsel, The Defense Line, Winter 2009.
- “Supervening Cause Is Alive and Well,” Maryland Defense Counsel, The Defense Line, Fall 2006.
- “The Restatement Sections Specifically Applicable to Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Cases in State Court: A 50-State Survey,” American Bar Association, Section of Litigation, 2004.
- “Don’t Forget Causation — It Can Save You,” Maryland Defense Counsel, The Defense Line, Winter 2004.
- “A Proposal for a Contract Write-Off Rule,” Defense Research Institute, For The Defense, January 2003.
- “A Federal Threat to your First Amendment Rights: Preemption of the Padavan Law by the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988,” New York State Senate Research Service 1996.
Presentations
- Maryland State Senate, provided testimony before the Judicial Proceedings Committee regarding legislation impacting the procedures involved in medical malpractice cases, February 2018.
- “Effective Voir Dire and Opening,” Maryland Defense Counsel, Trial Academy, Spring 2017.
- University of Maryland School of Nursing — Presentation to the CRNA graduating class of 2017 on risk management, litigation and how to avoid being a target of a lawsuit, March 2017.
- Maryland State Senate and Maryland House of Delegates, provided testimony before relevant committees regarding the impact of a proposal to substantially increase caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases, February 2017.
- University of Maryland Medical School – Presenter regarding legal issues impacting medical students involved in patient care, January 2017.
- Sinai Hospital of Baltimore — Presenter at Grand Rounds for the Department of Anesthesiology, “Opioids – Avoid the Pain,” April 2016.
- Maryland State Senate, Judicial Proceedings Committee, provided testimony regarding the impact of certain modifications to Maryland’s Medical Malpractice Act, March 2016.
- Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, “Opioids – Avoid the Pain,” February 2016 (presentation recorded and made electronically available to all physicians for mandatory CME credit).
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, “Anatomy of a Law Suit,” January 2016.
- Harvard Medical School (Brigham and Women’s and Children’s Hospital), Cambridge, Massachusetts, “Anatomy of a Law Suit,” May 2015.
- Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, “Misdiagnosis,” 2015 (series of seven lectures throughout Maryland).
- Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, “Medication Misadventures,” 2014 (series of eight lectures throughout Maryland).
- Holy Cross Hospital, Silver Spring Maryland — Presenter on “Special Risks in Meningitis Cases,” July 2013.
- Maryland Defense Counsel, Inc. (“MDC”) Trial Academy, “Attack the Plaintiff’s Expert — Nuts and Bolts of a Frye-Reed & 5-702 Challenge,” April 2013.
- Greater Baltimore Medical Center (“GBMC”) — Presenter at Grand Rounds for the Department of Anesthesia, “Nuts and Bolts of Litigation and How to Survive a Deposition,” April 2013.
- Sinai Hospital of Baltimore — Presenter at Grand Rounds for the Department of Anesthesiology, “How to Survive a Deposition,” February 2013.
- Maryland Association of Osteopathic Physicians, Presenter at Annual Meeting, “Avoid the Pain — A Doctor’s Survival Guide for the Maryland Board of Physicians,” December 2012.
- Maryland Chamber of Commerce, Guest Speaker, “Contributory Negligence v. Comparative Negligence,” November 2012.
- University of Baltimore School of Law, Guest Lecturer, “Anatomy of a Medical Malpractice Defense,” November 2012.
- Maryland House of Delegates, Judiciary Committee, provided testimony regarding the impact of certain modifications to Maryland’s Medical Malpractice Act, February 2012.
- Maryland Defense Counsel, Inc. (“MDC”) Trial Academy, “Persuasive Direct Examination of an Expert,” 2012.
- Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, “The Pediatric Pitfall — Special Liability and Risk Management Concerns for the Pediatrician,” 2012 (series of five lectures throughout Maryland).
- Kernan Hospital, “Pain Management — A Physician’s Survival Guide,” 2012.
- University of Maryland Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Grand Rounds, “A Litigation Survival Manual: How to Avoid the Pain,” July 26, 2012.
- Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, “Ophthalmology and Litigation,” 2012.
Baltimore City Medical Society & Baltimore County Medical Association, Maurice B. Furlong, Jr., M.D. Memorial Lecture, “Anatomy of a Defense Before the Board of Physicians,” September 2012. - National Business Institute (“NBI”), “The Paralegal’s Guide to Deciphering Medical Records,” 2008, 2012.
- Maryland Defense Counsel (“MDC”) Trial Academy, “Persuasive Direct Examination of an Expert,” 2012.
- Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, “The Pediatric Pitfall — Special Liability and Risk Management Concerns for the Pediatrician,” 2012 (series of five lectures throughout Maryland).
- Kernan Hospital, “Pain Management — A Physician’s Survival Guide,” 2012.
- University of Maryland Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Grand Rounds, “A Litigation Survival Manual: How to Avoid the Pain,” July 26, 2012.
- Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, “Ophthalmology and Litigation,” 2012.
- Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland Bi-Annual Counsel Meeting, “Controlling Litigation Costs: A Team Effort,” 2011.
- Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, “Pain Management — A Physician’s Survival Guide,” 2011 (series of seven lectures throughout Maryland).
- Maryland Defense Counsel (“MDC”) Trial Academy, “Effective Opening Statements,” 2010.
- University of Maryland Medical Center, Guest Lecturer to the medical residency program on risk management techniques, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010.
- Johns Hopkins Health System Annual Counsel Meeting, “New Developments in Challenging Medical Expert Causation Opinions,” 2010.
- Maryland Medicine Comprehensive Insurance Program (“MMCIP”) Annual Counsel Meeting, “Effective Use of Frye-Reed in Medical Malpractice Cases,” 2009.
- Kernan Hospital, “HIPAA Updates and Difficult Issues,” 2009.
- Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland Bi-Annual Counsel Meeting, “Plaintiff’s Causation Theory — Frye-Reed Analysis,” 2009.
- University of Maryland Law School, Guest Lecturer regarding the use of depositions at trial, 2007, 2008.