Prominent Baltimore attorney and MSBA member Michael L. Spekter passed away on July 5, 2021. He is survived by his daughter Eirinn, his mother Ruth Spekter, and his sister Barbara Ghen. 

Mr. Spekter graduated from Villanova University, BA cum laude, Honors Program, and received his law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he was a dean’s list student. He began his legal career in Arizona, where he worked as a public defender in Pima County. He was one of the original senior prosecuting attorneys for the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, and litigated numerous seminal federal whistleblower retaliation and Hatch Act cases. 

Most recently, Mr. Spekter was of counsel to Gilbert Employment Law, representing federal employees in employment and retirement-related matters. He practiced extensively before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the local and federal Courts of the District of Columbia and Maryland, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where he was responsible for several groundbreaking retirement cases that protect the rights of part-time federal employees.

In addition to practicing law, Mr. Spekter was an adjunct professor at both the University of Baltimore School of Law and American University Washington College of Law, where he taught courses on Law Practice Management. He coached The University of Baltimore Law School ABA employment law moot court team as well. In 2019 he was named as the Outstanding Adjunct Professor of the Year by the University of Baltimore Law School.

He was also an active member of the MSBA and the Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association, where he held a position on the Leadership Council, and was an associate editor and regular contributor to Law Practice, the magazine of the Law Practice Division.

Colleagues remember Mr. Spekter not only as a brilliant practitioner who successfully represented hundreds of clients in federal employment disputes and criminal appeals, but also as a dedicated teacher who took great joy in mentoring students. 

A Celebration of Life in honor of Mr. Spekter will be held from 2 to 5 P.M. on July 24 at the Town Hall of Garrett Park Maryland, 10814 Kenilworth Avenue, Garrett Park, MD 20896.