Joseph W. Hovermill
Biography
Joe Hovermill has defended manufacturers and distributors in a variety of complex product liability, toxic tort, environmental litigation and insurance disputes regionally and nationally for more than 30 years.
He supervises the management of multiparty litigation nationally for several manufacturing clients, developing and implementing coordinated litigation strategies to control or eliminate the significant exposure posed by such claims. Joe also litigates and tries complicated environmental disputes between his clients and states and municipalities, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Justice.
Joe’s has experience in mass torts and environmental disputes connected with a variety of allegedly toxic substances, including dioxin, PCBs, asbestos, silica, mold, vinyl chloride, benzenes, nickel, perchlorate and TCE/PCE.
As part of the firm’s insurance coverage practice, Joe locates and secures legacy insurance coverage to cover the cost and risk of the matters he defends for them. The long-term nature of the matters he handles has required him to study, understand and litigate complicated corporate organization and successor-liability issues in state and federal courts around the country.
Joe is the former president, CEO and COO of Miles & Stockbridge and has nearly 20 years of experience handling day-to-day business of running a law firm, including strategic planning and employee management.
He has been regularly ranked in Chambers USA for his insurance work and honored as “Litigation Star” for Maryland by Benchmark Litigation. He was named Lawyer of the Year for mass tort litigation/class actions in 2024 by Best Lawyers in America® and has been included in that category for 17 years, as well as recognized by Best Lawyers for his product liability litigation since 2013. In 2021, Joe received the “Leadership in the Law” award from The Daily Record recognizing his commitments to excellence, community service and mentoring throughout his career.
Services
- Class Actions
- Commercial Litigation
- Coverage Disputes & Litigation
- Environment & Energy
- Environmental Litigation & Enforcement Actions
- Insurance Acquisition, Assessment & Asset Management
- Insurance Recovery & Risk Management
- National Coordinating Counsel
- Power Tools & Industrial Machinery Litigation
- Products Liability & Mass Torts
- Risk Prevention & Management
- Toxic Exposures
- Litigation & Dispute Resolution
- Appellate
Industries
Education
- University of Maryland School of Law (J.D., summa cum laude, 1993)
- Order of the Coif
- University of Maryland Baltimore County (B.A., summa cum laude, 1990)
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia, 1996
- Maryland, 1993
Professional Affiliations
- American Bar Association: Trial Tort and Insurance Practice Section
- Baltimore City Bar Association
- Baltimore County Bar Association
- Defense Research Institute, Inc.
- International Association of Defense Counsel
- Maryland Defense Counsel, Inc.
- Maryland Law Review: Editor
- Maryland State Bar Association
Special Honors
- Benchmark Litigation: Listed as a Litigation Star for Maryland (2021-2023); for Maryland and recognized for Product Liability Work (2026)
- Best Lawyers in America®: "Lawyer of the Year" - Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants (2024); Selected for inclusion in the areas of Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants (2009-2026); Product Liability Litigation - Defendants (2013-2026); Insurance Law and Litigation – Insurance (2024-2026)
- Baltimore Magazine "Top Lawyer" for Commercial Litigation (2026)
- Chambers USA - America’s Leading Lawyers for Business: Listed in the area of Insurance (2019-2024)
- Business Today: “Top Ten Fierce Insurance Lawyers Making Waves in Maryland 2023”
- The Daily Record: Leadership in Law Award (2021)
- Maryland Super Lawyers®: Selected for inclusion in the area of Class Action/Mass Torts, Personal Injury Defense: Products, Insurance Coverage (2009-2014); Class Action/Mass Torts (2013-2020); Named among the Top 100 Maryland Super Lawyers (2012-2014); Named among the Top 50 Maryland Super Lawyers (2011)
- Corporate Counsel and American Lawyer Magazines: Listed among the 2013 Top Rated Lawyers for Energy, Environmental and Natural Resources (2013)
- Super Lawyers® - Corporate Counsel Edition: Selected for inclusion in the area of Personal Injury Defense: Products (September 2009)
- Baltimore Business Journal: 40 Under 40 Award (2007)
- Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent® Rated
Court Admissions
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Community Involvement
- Board of Directors, Assistant Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair, Springboard Community Services Board of Visitors, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
- Board of Directors, Downtown Partnership of Baltimore
- Treasurer, St. David’s Episcopal Church and Day School
- Board of Directors, History Associates, Inc.
