Jonathan Schochor

Biography

Jonathan Schochor is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University (1968), and the American University School of Law (1971), where he was Associate Editor-In-Chief of the Law Review and has practiced law continuously since 1971. He has served as a Board Member, Secretary, Vice President, and President of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association, and has further served as the Maryland State Delegate and Maryland State Governor of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Mr. Schochor has focused his practice on the preparation and trial of medical negligence cases for 48 years. Over that period of time, he and his firm have been involved in the investigation of claims and/or representation of plaintiffs in thousands of medical malpractice cases. He and his firm have recovered well over a billion dollars on behalf of his clients, and have prepared and filed more medical malpractice cases than any other lawyer or law firm in Maryland. Mr. Schochor is frequently asked about his success and the success of his firm. Suffice it to say, there have been so many successes – too numerous to recount here. In fact, our success rate is approximately 95% for our clients. As examples, two cases stand out because of their national significance. The first is the Levy Class Action case. Mr. Schochor was the Chairman of the Steering Committee in the Levy Class Action against Johns Hopkins Hospital. Nikita Levy, M.D. was an OB/GYN who secretly videotaped and photographed his patients. He was additionally guilty of boundary violations.

After 8 months of negotiation, the Levy litigation was certified as a Class Action in Baltimore, Maryland in October of 2013. After appropriate Notice of the Class was furnished, approximately 8,000 of Dr. Levy’s patients came forward to actively participate. After ongoing negotiation, Mr. Schochor spearheaded settlement of the case for 190 million dollars. That case was reported to be the largest, single perpetrator, sexual abuse settlement in United States history, at that time. And it stands as the largest Class Action settlement in Maryland history. Also of national significance, Mr. Schochor led the litigation in the Almaraz case – which pioneered a new legal concept. In that litigation, a breast surgeon failed to inform his patients 
that he had contracted HIV prior to performing invasive surgery upon them. Mr. Schochor sued Dr. Almaraz and his hospital. The hospital claimed that there was no “cause of action” for the doctor’s failure to inform his patients of the HIV. At that time, there was no case law providing a cause of action for the doctor’s conduct. Through that litigation, a new legal precedent was established — that health care providers have a duty to inform patients of their positive HIV status before performing any invasive procedures in the State of Maryland. “I am proud to say that the new case law was adopted not only in Maryland, but in many other states across the country.”

Mr. Schochor is a first-generation American who credits a great deal of his success to the education he received at the Pennsylvania State University, where he met his wife, Joan. Additionally, he and his wife have endowed two scholarships at the University—one for undergraduate students, and one for graduate students in the Liberal Arts. The Firm has also endowed two scholarships for law students—one at University of Maryland, and one at The University of Baltimore Law School. Mr. Schochor resides in Lutherville, Maryland with his wife of 51 years, Joan. The Schochors have two children and four grandchildren. In his (limited) free time, he enjoys his family, travel, golf, fishing, geometric art design, home construction projects, and reading.

Mr. Schochor supports many charitable organizations. However, two tragedies struck his very close friends — one family lost a child to teen suicide and founded the Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation — a non-profit organization devoted to assisting those who have lost a loved one to teen suicide. Mr. and Mrs. Schochor and his firm have been major supporters of the foundation since its inception in 2001. Additionally, Mr. Schochor is on the Board of the Life and Breath Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to finding the cure for sarcoidosis—the world’s most common fibrotic lung disease. The Firm has also contributed to many other charities.

Cases in Action

Schochor was an early pioneer in HIV-related cases. At the beginning, when the disease was  widespread and heavily misunderstood, Schochor led litigation against a surgeon who performed  invasive procedures in the absence of standards that required him to disclose his positive HIV  status. The case was won on appeal, creating a new standard of care in Maryland where surgeons  are required to inform patients of their HIV status prior to an invasive procedure. It was a policy  adapted widely across the country. 

Presently, the firm is heavily involved in two cases for survivors of sexual abuse in the Catholic  Church. One case represents 945 survivors involved with the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and the  second involves a putative class action against the Archdiocese of Washington (AOW). Five  Maryland counties are included in the AOW; therefore, the firm sued the Archdiocese under a  new Maryland law called the Child Victims Act. Under this law, the statute of limitations was  lifted, permitting Maryland sexual abuse survivors who were children to come forward and  pursue civil actions against the AOW. The Archdiocese challenged the law, arguing that it is  unconstitutional. The case was argued in Maryland’s highest Court in September of 2024, and the  survivors are awaiting the Court’s ruling. 

The firm has also been significantly involved in opioid litigation, has advocated on behalf of first  responders exposed to aqueous film-forming foam, and has successfully triumphed in water  contamination cases. 
“I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish, not just for our clients but for the future  of the justice system,” says Schochor. 

Where Law Meets Medicine

“To excel in these areas of law, it is essential to have both passion and compassion, as well as a  deep understanding of law and medicine. It is not just one thing that leads to success; it is a  combination of factors,” says Schochor. “Grounding it all is the simple yet profound sentiment of  caring deeply about our clients and their lives. 

“We spare no expense to provide clients the highest level of representation possible. We have to  level the playing field against giant corporations and billion-dollar insurance companies to  provide our clients with the highest probability of success,” he says. Every case is accepted on a  contingency basis, meaning that clients do not pay a cent if the firm does not win. The firm’s  battle-ready arsenal includes full-time medical investigators, not to mention attorneys with  decades upon decades of experience and a track record of irrefutable success.

Humble Beginnings

A first-generation American, Schochor was instilled with a strong work ethic and a straight moral  compass from an early age. His father, an immigrant who fled Ukraine at 14 during a brutal  invasion, worked long hours to build a stable life for his family. Schochor began accompanying  his father on construction job sites at just 8 years old, learning trade skills such as roofing,  carpentry, road cutting, and the operation of heavy machinery. “My parents taught me that no  amount of work is too hard,” Schochor says. 

Schochor went on to work busboy and waiter jobs during high school and college. It was at the  Pennsylvania State University where he met his wife, Joan. The couple now funds scholarships  and has volunteered on an advisory board for the university. “I grew up at Penn State,” he says.  “I will do anything I can for them.” 

However, it was his father-in-law-a pioneering physician who helped “break the blue wall of  silence” for doctors to testify about medical malpractice on behalf of plaintiffs-who first exposed  Schochor to the field of medicine. He invited his son-in-law to observe operations; Schochor  quickly realized he had a knack for it. “I understood it, and I loved it,” he recalls. “My father-in law was the one who suggested I get into medical negligence plaintiff work.” 

That was in 1974. Schochor worked under an elder lawyer for a decade before launching his own  firm with co-founder Kerry D. Staton in 1984. The rest, as they say, is history. 

A Proud Legacy

At 78 years young, Schochor has no plan to slow down. He continues to build legacies both  personal and professional. His two adult children are “incredible people,” he beams, and his firm  is one he believes “will be here into perpetuity.” 
He continues to mentor younger lawyers on “how to do it right”-an amalgam he describes as  taking care of each client as an individual, protecting them, communicating effectively to teach  clients patience within the legal process, and navigating the challenges that inevitably come with  a high-stakes, high-reward legal profession. 

“Taking on cases is an enormous responsibility to not just clients but also their families. We hear  a lot of tragedies, but we must do everything in our power to remain objective so we can  effectively help. If you fall too deeply into these tragedies, you are unable to help,” Schochor  says. 

For Schochor, it is the thousands of rebuilt lives and the triumphs of justice that make it all worth  it. “We’ve established a law firm that has and will stand the test of time,” he concludes. “I’m  proud to be known as a highly successful practitioner who consistently practices at the highest  level and has never compromised integrity.”