Employment Law Center of Maryland

I felt like the lawyer was honest about what they can do to help and gave me insight on other legal aspects I can take as well . The lawyer was friendly and genuinely sought out to help me with my case. I made to feel like had someone on my side and understood my situation. I was left confident that I was getting somewhere with my case. Overall good experience.

I am leaving this review to warn others because I feel completely misled by this firm’s practices. I paid $265 for what was advertised as a one-hour video consultation, but the experience was a consultation collection mill from start to finish. First, the attorney didn't even turn on his camera, making the interaction feel cold and impersonal. To make matters worse, the "one-hour" session I paid for was rushed and cut short after just 20 minutes. During those few minutes, the attorney explicitly told me that while I didn’t have a case yet, I should reach back out immediately if I were terminated, as that would change the legal grounds of my situation. Unfortunately, I was terminated. I followed his instructions precisely: I emailed the firm to notify them and to finish the remainder of the consultation time I had already paid for. I received no response. I followed up by calling and leaving a message. I was ignored again. It appears this firm is happy to collect consultation fees for promised time they do not deliver, only to ghost you when you actually need the legal assistance they offered. They sold me false hope to get the fee, gave me 20 minutes of distracted service, and then vanished. Don’t waste your money.

They couldn't help me but I appreciated them being direct, informative, upfront, reasonable and honest. Plus their prices are extremely reasonable. Would recommend.

I had a very positive experience interacting with the team at ELC. The team was very courteous, knowledgeable and gave me a straight forward advice. I felt heard and I know that I have a team by my side supporting me as needed. I wholeheartedly recommend ELC without hesitation !

I had a great experience working with the office and would highly recommend them. Joseph Gibson was very thorough. He answered all of my questions and provided sound advice.

I chose a 30-minute consultation and was able to schedule a meeting that same day. I spoke with Bethany Callahan, who was incredibly knowledgeable, professional, and empathetic. She asked great questions and she made me feel like she really wanted to help me. I recommend the Employment Law Center of Maryland.

The one star reviews are similar to my experiences. I will update as time goes on. I recommend any other lawyer because the lawyers here are experts at taking the client's money without helping you. Do not delete my review. The people need to see our experiences.

I'm updating my review 3 years later and am happy to keep the 5 star rating. This wasn't my first experience hiring representation for a legal matter, but it was among my best experiences. From the first call, Mr. Gibson was responsive, personable, professional, and most important--- helpful and informative. I had a solid understanding of my case and clear directions for moving forward. My case was then handled by Will Chavez and his team, and their consistent communication and response timing were excellent. Employment law matters are complicated and stressful, and I appreciated feeling heard and receiving in-depth explanations at each stage. They were also very cost-conscious and respectful. I would highly recommend the Employment Law Center of Maryland without hesitation.

They were very professional and very honest with the situation I brought to them. They were also able to explain it in a way that someone who is autistic like me could understand and didn't mind when I asked them questions or to reword one of their questions to make more sense for me. The prices are also far more affordable than any of the other law firms I went to first.

From intake to resolution, ELCMD handled my matter with strong legal expertise, tenacity and most importantly, compassion and understanding. Huge shoutout to Lauren who handled the majority of my case. I’m glad to have had her in my corner.

I'm amending this review to reflect my latest interaction. I had scheduled a case analysis with them (they have you prepay that, $265) . I canceled that meeting the day before because my employer agreed to pay me. When I requested a refund they refused, stating they have a strict 24 hour notice policy which apparently I agreed to in checking a box when I made the payment. BE AWARE, they would not reconsider! These guys Rock! They are professional, confidence inspiring and great to work with. My highest recommendation.

DO NOT LET ELC SWINDLE YOU LIKE THEY DID ME!! I LOST ALMOST MY ENTIRE SAVINGS!!! I FEEL COMPLETELY SCAMMED...PLEASE READ BEFORE AGREEING TO WORK WITH THEM! I was wrongfully terminated from my job and turned to ELC for help. They assured me I had a "great case" and convinced me that they were "low bono" so I was under the impression that they would cost less than other lawyers. However, after only 3 months, and almost $5000 in fees, they suddenly decided that they no longer wanted to work my case. I am on the Autism spectrum and sometimes have difficulty communicating my thoughts clearly (which I had made them aware of during our initial consultation). I messaged Beth, my lawyer, a legal question which I guess she misunderstood and instead of asking for clarification from me, she simply decided to drop my case. At least, this is the reason they gave for dropping my case. In my opinion (this is not fact, it is simply what it felt like to me), I believe they simply felt the case was no longer fruitful to them monetarily so they found an excuse to sever ties. Essentially, it FEELS as though they only acted as though I had a "great case" in order to get me on board with the idea of hiring a lawyer, presented themselves as cost effective (when in reality, hiring a better attorney on retainer would have been FAR more cost effective in the long run) so I would be inclined to choose their firm, and then when they realized that I was running out of money and/or they didn't feel like doing anymore work on a case they probably knew I wasn't going to win in the first place, they dropped me. It appears from other reviews I've seen that, allegedly, I'm not the only person they have done this sort of bait-and-switch on, so I felt it was important to let others know, especially since the individuals who would be looking for an employment lawyer are probably already in a vulnerable position in the first place. 7/31/25 EDIT: Hi Joe, Just wanted to respond to your response :) I don’t really care who decided to terminate representation, the fact of the matter is that your firm did so without calling me to discuss any questions or concerns you may have had pertaining to your reasoning for termination which, in my opinion, is a sketchy and highly unethical thing for a lawyer to do. I was completely blindsided and, to this day, can’t quite fathom why it was terminated (other than the reasons I provided in my original post). If you REALLY want to help facilitate me being able to move forward with finding new counsel, you will refund me the $5000 your firm charged me prior to the termination-without-cause so that I can AFFORD new counsel. Otherwise, I will just continue to assume you are the bottom-feeding crooks you have portrayed yourselves to be, taking advantage of the out-of-work people you know are desperate because they have no other options. Warmest regards, Byrdie

I was dealing with a hostile work environment and was referred to the employment law center for guidance. I was advised I would need to pay a consultation fee which is standard. The other law firms I spoke with charged a consultation fee let me know immediately that they could not assist. Well speaking with the ELC they alluded to a possibility and advised for the additional fee they could analyze the information. I was scheduled for the morning of July 28 and took leave from work for the meeting. I was notified that morning stating the Mr. Gibson had not returned back from his leave and would need to reschedule. Which I felt was very unprofessional because most companies give at least 24 hour notice during business hours of change. I made this appointment at least 2 weeks in advance and my situation is time sensitive. Since I wasn’t given a choice I agreed to the schedule change to the next day. It was a zoom meeting that was supposed to start at 2:30, so I logged in at that time. I unfortunately was left in the zoom waiting area I for at least 5 minutes. I thought it was my phone, so I switched to the zoom on my laptop. I still had to wait a few moments before being let in the meeting. Immediately upon entering the zoom I noticed there was no video for me to see the attorney just a PowerPoint slide. He greeted me and apologized for the delay citing having issues with zoom. Immediately, after the apology he said he couldn’t take the case. He cited information from the initial consultation as the reason which leads me to believe this was just a money grab. He did not provide any additional information other than what was discussed in the consultation. Which again could have been the determining factor at that time to say they couldn’t assist further. The zoom lasted for approximately 15 minutes and I was given no additional guidance. There wasn’t even any empathy for the situation or the fact that while speaking about the situation I was brought to tears. This was a waste of time, resources and no service was provided past the consultation. Reply: Mr. Gibson I am thankful that you responded. Just so you are aware I have no problem with upfront replies, but the information you replied was not far from what was alluded to in the consultation. The specialist communicated that the hostile direction was the possible approach only for you to communicate “it wasn’t hostile enough that law enforcement was called”. That was something explained during the consultation and it could have been an immediate “we can’t help”. You did hours of research to use that as the only basis that the direction of “hostile workplace” couldn’t be used. If that was the bar then that could have been explained in the consultation. To have someone pay an additional fee and wait weeks for a 15 minute conversation was not providing a service. There were indicators in our brief conversation that made recognize you did not thoroughly review the case. You mentioned I would have had to report the incident more than once and the documentation I submitted showed that prior to the final reporting there were multiple times that occurred. Stating as a response, “ if our goal was to take your money, we would have told you the opposite of what we did” is again unprofessional and shows your lack of comprehension. You having someone wait two weeks for a time sensitive matter, get rescheduled last minute and given a “we can’t help” when that could have been a established during the consultation is equivalent to taking someone’s money for nothing. Also, what was in your control was rescheduling without adequate notice due to you allegedly not coming back from leave. I took the morning off on July 28 only for me to be rescheduled. That is most definitely in your control. Being in zoom without being able to see who I’m speaking with is not personable, but was in your control.

I feel so fortunate to have an organization like this in the county. The consultation process was seamless and they were so incredibly helpful and provide you with so much guidance and an avenue to actually take on a case head on. Money well spent! I 100% recommend it.

We were referred to the Employment Law Center of Maryland by a neighbor and, after reviewing their website, decided to call and ask whether they had experience with the federal WARN Act. The receptionist wasn’t sure, so he put us on hold to check with an attorney. When he returned, he confirmed that they were familiar with the law, so we scheduled a $90 consultation. Unfortunately, the consultation itself was disappointing. The attorney we spoke with admitted he was unfamiliar with the WARN Act and wasn’t able to offer any meaningful guidance. He said a case analysis would be necessary (at an additional cost, of course) but couldn’t even tell us whether our situation was likely worth pursuing. We expressed our frustration, as we had been assured earlier that the firm had experience in this area. While we understand that legal matters are often nuanced and require in-depth analysis, we expected the attorney to at least be more knowledgeable than we were about the relevant law and capable of providing an informed initial opinion. In an attempt to be helpful, he tried to contact another attorney at the firm but was unable to reach anyone. He then spent part of the consultation doing quick online research, which didn’t inspire much confidence. Overall, the experience left us feeling that the intake process is designed more as a revenue generator than a genuine legal service. The $90 “consultation” felt no different from a free intake call offered by many other law firms. While the upfront fee might seem affordable, it appears to function as a gateway to more costly services, even when no substantive advice is provided. Unfortunately, this approach feels somewhat predatory given that many people reaching out to them are likely in a vulnerable position and simply looking for clear, honest guidance. Perhaps this firm is better suited for routine employment law matters, but if your case is even slightly complex or nonstandard, I would recommend seeking representation elsewhere.

$90, well spent I was able to receive informative advise ment on my particular issues. MR Gibson was well versed, and even cited law that I didn't know about.

Joseph Gibson was thorough and helpful. I highly recommend them to anybody who ever has any legal help needed. Thank you again guys.!

I appreciated the prompt service with ELC. I was able to book online after hours for an appointment the next day. The staff attorney listened carefully and provided professional advice; I left the consultation feeling supported in my next steps, without any pressure. I would highly recommend ELC!

They made the process amazingly easy and swift. A great team if you are looking for lawyers that you can trust will provide you with the best options and always communicate with you effectively.