Simply Law in Baltimore: Employment Law Without the Retainer Trap
Simply Law is a solo employment law practice in downtown Baltimore that handles wrongful termination, wage-and-hour disputes, discrimination claims, and severance negotiation on a flat-fee or hourly basis, without requiring clients to commit to five-figure retainers.
What Simply Law actually is
Simply Law operates as a single-attorney firm focused entirely on representing employees rather than employers. The practice sits apart from both large litigation mills that treat employment cases as commodity work and from small generalist firms where employment law is one of five practice areas. The attorney specializes in claims under federal statutes (Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA) and Maryland employment law, and handles clients who are already fired or facing termination, not prospective contract negotiations.
Services and fee structure
The practice offers consultation, demand-letter negotiation, settlement discussion, and litigation preparation. For initial consultations, Simply Law charges a flat rate rather than billable time. For cases that settle through negotiation or mediation, the attorney typically uses a flat fee agreed in advance; for cases that proceed to trial, hourly billing applies (verify current rate by calling). Clients with straightforward wage claims or clear discrimination evidence often land in the flat-fee category; clients facing complex multi-issue disputes or employer-heavy litigation costs may be quoted hourly instead. No retainer is required to begin; fees are discussed before engagement.
How it compares to other Baltimore employment law options
Baltimore has larger employment practices like those at Whiteford Taylor + Preston and DLA Piper, both of which operate full-service employment law departments serving corporations and individuals; their model typically involves retainers and rates scaled for institutional clients. At the opposite end, many small general-practice firms and legal aid organizations (including the Employment Justice Center, a nonprofit, and the Maryland Office of the Attorney General's Wage and Hour Division) provide some employment support, though legal aid focuses on low-income clients and state agencies handle only certain wage complaints. Simply Law sits in the gap: an individual-focused specialist without the overhead of a large firm and without legal-aid income limits. The key difference is pricing transparency and structure; most local large firms will not quote a case without significant preliminary work, and most won't engage on flat-fee terms. Choose Simply Law if you want a specialist who can price the case upfront and work without a retainer; choose a legal-aid organization if you qualify by income and want no-cost help; choose a generalist firm if you need broader business-law support alongside employment claims.
Who it suits and who it does not suit
Simply Law is well-suited to employees with a defined problem (fired after reporting safety violations, passed over for promotion based on age, not paid overtime) who need straightforward representation and want to know the cost going in. The flat-fee model works especially well for settlement-oriented cases where the dispute is unlikely to require six months of discovery. It suits clients who have been turned away by retainer-based firms or who cannot sustain $5,000-plus upfront costs.
The practice is not a fit for clients needing ongoing employment contract advice, HR compliance guidance, or proactive workplace counsel. Those needs belong with a generalist firm or a business lawyer. It is also not suited to clients hoping to sue for emotional distress or reputational harm beyond statutory damages; employment law recoveries are capped by statute in most scenarios, and Simply Law will be clear about that ceiling upfront.
What the first visit involves
An initial consultation runs 30 minutes to an hour and covers your employment history at the company, the specific event (termination, demotion, denial of benefits), the timeline, any documentation (offer letter, performance reviews, emails, termination notice), and the employer's stated reason. The attorney will explain which laws might apply, what recovery you could realistically pursue, and what evidence you would need to build the case. If the claim is simple and strong, the attorney may quote a flat fee on the spot; if the case needs further investigation or has complicating factors, you may get a range and an offer to follow up within a week with a detailed proposal.
Hours, parking, and logistics
Simply Law operates by appointment only; drop-in consultations are not available. The office is located downtown; street parking and municipal lots are available within a block. Verify hours and current phone number before calling, as solo practices can shift scheduling; the website or a legal directory listing will have the most current contact information. Virtual consultations are available for clients outside Baltimore.
Simply Law fills a real need in Baltimore for individual employment representation that does not demand five figures before addressing your claim.
