About
our attorneys...
Our attorneys were educated at some of the nation's finest law schools
and have experience both with private practice and in legal education,
including work for premier national and international firms.
We have chosen to devote our efforts, however, to a small firm practice
where clients can receive the personalized attention and cost-effective
representation they deserve.
To learn more about our attorneys, read his or her biography by clicking
the appropriate name:
RICHARD D. CARTER, Partner Rich also handles a wide variety of general litigation
matters involving insurance coverage, intellectual property disputes,
commercial litigation and criminal matters. After his graduation from
the George Washington University National Law Center in 1980, Rich taught
law school for ten years before entering private practice and continued
teaching as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center
until 2000. He has also taught Professional Responsibility for Trial Lawyers
at the D.C. Law Students In Court Program. He combines his academic and
professional experience handling legal issues for attorneys related to
malpractice and professional responsibility matters. Rich is a Master in the Thurgood Marshall Inns of Court,
and a member of the American, The District of Columbia and Alexandria
Bar Associations as well as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
He is active in community affairs, is a Board Member of local and national
service associations and the recipient of The District of Columbia Mayor's
Distinguished Public Service award, The Distinguished Service Award from
The Patient Advocate Association and The Lever Award from the D.C. Law
Students in Court Program. To reach Rich Carter by e-mail,
click here. DOUGLAS M. COLEMAN, Partner Doug also practices in the related
fields of employment law, pension, health and disability benefits under
ERISA and state law, and employment discrimination claims. A native Alexandrian,
his interest in history and architecture has led to the occasional case
in the unusual field of historic preservation. Doug graduated with a B.A. in
English and anthropology from the University of Virginia in 1982, returning
to Alexandria in 1985 after receiving his law degree from the University
of Richmond. Doug is a member of the Virginia
Association of Defense Attorneys and the Alexandria Bar Association. He
is admitted to practice before the Virginia Supreme Court, the United
States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia,
the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United
States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. To reach Doug Coleman by e-mail,
click here. JULIANE C. MILLER, Partner Juliane is a member of the federal
and state bars of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. She
is also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals
for the Fourth Circuit. Juliane is a member of the American Bar Association,
the Virginia and Alexandria Bar Associations, and the Maryland Young Lawyers
Association. Juliane is a native of New York.
She received her B.A. in political science from the State University of
New York at Geneseo in 1988. Juliane received her J.D. from the Ohio Northern
University College of Law where she was a member of the Law Review Editorial
Board and the Moot Court Board of Advocates. After receiving her J.D.
from Ohio Northern, she studied health care law at Georgetown University
Law Center and was awarded an L.L.M in 1993. To reach Juliane Miller by e-mail,
click here. GERALD F. RAGLAND, JR.,
Partner In addition to trial work, Gerry
has extensive appellate court experience. In Federal courts he has represented
parties before the Second, Third and Fourth circuit courts of Appeals
and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In state
courts he has appeared before the Virginia Supreme Court, the District
of Columbia Court of Appeals, The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, The Superior
Court of Pennsylvania, and the intermediate court of appeals in Texas. In The Circuit Court for Fairfax,
Virginia, in May of 1998, he was trial counsel for plaintiff in The
Women's Center v. Zaepfel, Law # L160560, which involved issues of
social work practice and ethics. He obtained a verdict for his client
which included punitive damages based upon defendant's professional misconduct. In 1999, he concluded a substantial
case involving litigation of partnership interests after successfully
defending a favorable judgment before the Virginia Supreme Court. The
result was the transfer of one million dollars in real estate to his clients.
The case was tried in the Circuit Court of Culpeper County, Virginia and
was Arico, et al, vs. The Finders, et al, No. 94-C-107. Gerry has handled and tried many
medical malpractice cases from the late seventies in Philadelphia until
the trial of Livers vs. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the
Mid-Atlantic States, Inc., et al, Circuit Court of Arlington County,
Virginia, Law case #94-32, in which he obtained a $500,000 jury verdict
for his client in October of 1996. During the 1980s, Gerry was noted
as an authority on cases involving claims of psychological injury from
participation in a type of group therapy known as encounter groups. He
handled in excess of thirty such cases in both Philadelphia and Washington,
D.C., all involving expert testimony from Psychiatrists and Psychologists.
All the trials were in Federal Courts. Gerry is a member of the bar in
Virginia, the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania. To reach Gerry Ragland by e-mail,
click here. MIKHAEL D. CHARNOFF, Partner Mikhael D. Charnoff practices
civil litigation in Virginia and Maryland. He litigates in the areas of
real estate and medical malpractice, as well as a variety of general litigation
matters. Mike regularly represents real estate agents, real estate brokers,
and escrow agents in actions for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary
duty, professional negligence, actual and constructive fraud, and related
claims. Mike regularly defends general dentists, endodontists, and health
care institutions against claims of medical malpractice. Mike graduated from the University
of Virginia School of Law in May, 1999. He practiced civil litigation
with a firm in Tysons Corner, Virginia for a year and a half, where his
practice included business litigation and general litigation matters.
Mike joined Carter & Coleman in September, 2001, after serving as
a judicial clerk to the Honorable Frank E. Schwelb of the District of
Columbia Court of Appeals. Mike was born and raised in Fairfax,
Virginia. Mike graduated from Mary Washington College in 1995 with a B.A.
in Sociology. He is a member of the Virginia (1999) and Maryland (1999)
state bars, and is admitted to practice in the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (2000). Mike is a member of
the Alexandria Bar Association. To reach Mike Charnoff by e-mail,
click here. PEGGY TAYLOR, Associate Peggy Taylor rejoined
Carter&Coleman in February of 2005, after having previously worked
at the firm from September of 1999 through August of 2003. Peggy specializes
in defending healthcare providers from professional liability claims.
She has represented hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities,
and physicians throughout Virginia. In addition to trial advocacy, Peggy
has also provided risk management and general healthcare law counsel to
her clients. She has also handled a variety of general litigation matters,
including professional liability defense for real estate agents, brokers,
and companies, and serves counsel and registered agent for small businesses.
Peggy is a Northern Virginia native who completed high school at Thomas
Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. She received her B.A.
in foreign affairs, with a specialization in Eastern European countries,
from the University of Virginia, and her J.D. from Georgetown University
Law Center. While attending law school, Peggy was admitted to practice
in the District of Columbia as a student attorney with the Civil Division
of the D.C. Law Students in Court Program where she represented indigent
tenants in the D.C. Superior Court and the D.C. Court of Appeals. Peggy
is admitted to practice before the Virginia Supreme Court (2000), the
United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia, and
the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She is a member
of the Virginia Bar Association, Fairfax Bar Association, Virginia Association
of Defense Attorneys, and the American Health Lawyers Association. Peggy
also serves on the Board of Directors for the Alexandria Boys and Girls
Club, General Counsel. To reach Peggy Taylor
by email, click here. STEPHEN D. CHARNOFF, Associate To reach Steve Charnoff by e-mail,
click here. ERIN C.
TRUBAN, Associate Erin C. Truban joined
the firm as an associate in August, 2004 following her graduation from
Villanova University School of Law in May, 2004. As a student at Villanova,
Erin was an associate editor for the Villanova Environmental Law Journal,
which published her article, “Military Exemptions from Environmental
Regulations: Unwarranted Special Treatment or Necessary Relief?”
in 2004. She was also a teaching assistant in the Legal Writing program
for first-year law students. Erin is admitted
to the Virginia Bar. The focus of her practice is the defense of malpractice
suits against nursing homes. To reach Erin Truban
by email, click here.
Richard D. Carter, Partner
Douglas M. Coleman, Partner
Juliane C. Miller, Partner
Gerald F. Ragland, Jr., Partner
Mikhael D. Charnoff, Partner
Peggy Taylor, Associate
Stephen D. Charnoff, Associate
Erin C. Truban, Associate
Richard D. Carter is one of the best known Health Care Litigators in the
country. He has handled cases in every federal judicial circuit and spoken
on health care litigation topics at the annual conventions of the American
Bar Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America as well
as specialized Health Law and Medical conferences throughout the country.
Rich's practice regularly involves issues such as ERISA claims and preemption,
access to care, experimental treatments, medical necessity and standard
of care. Rich also is regularly involved in litigation involving disability
insurance, pensions and medical malpractice.
Doug Coleman's practice focuses on professional liability claims, particularly
the defense of malpractice suits against nursing homes, physicians, dentists,
lawyers, accountants and pension consultants. He has defended several
hundred Virginia real estate agents since 1987 in various proceedings,
including ethics and licensure hearings, and regularly teaches continuing
education courses in this area for both agents and attorneys.
Juliane has concentrated her practice over the last eight years in the
area of health care litigation. She has extensive experience with the
federal ERISA Statute, having defended both disability and health benefit
claims under its guidelines. In addition, Juliane has defended health
care providers and long term care facilities in professional liability
actions. She has also defended real estate agents and their brokers in
professional liability and negligence actions in Maryland, Virginia and
the District of Columbia.
Gerald F. Ragland, Jr., was born and raised in Virginia. He graduated
from Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia, with a major in English
and the dramatic arts. After a brief career teaching, he attended Temple
University School of Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and received his
J.D. degree in June of 1975. Initially, he was employed as an associate
counsel with the Philadelphia Housing Authority, but since the late seventies
he has been in private practice primarily as a civil litigator in small
firms or as a sole practitioner, first in Philadelphia and later based
in Northern Virginia. He now has over a quarter century of litigation
experience including civil jury trials in Federal courts in Pennsylvania,
Virginia, the District of Columbia and Connecticut and numerous civil
jury trials in the state courts of Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Stephen D. Charnoff joined the firm in August of 2003. He practices general
civil litigation, with an emphasis on medical malpractice defense and
professional negligence defense. He graduated with honors from the University
of North Carolina School of Law in May of 2003. As a law student, Steve
was a member of both the trial team and the National Moot Court team,
and externed with the Federal Public Defender's Office in Raleigh, North
Carolina. A native Northern Virginian, Steve graduated from Mary Washington
College in Fredericksburg, VA in May of 1999 with a B.A. in Sociology.
Prior to attending law school, Erin graduated with honors from the University
of Virginia in May, 2000 with a B.S. in Nursing. While at the University
of Virginia, she co-authored “HIV-Related Lipodystrophy: Implications
for Practice and Research,” which was published in the March/April
2000 issue of the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. In
July 2000, she became a licensed Registered Nurse and worked in Winchester
Medical Center’s surgical telemetry unit until starting law school.