Saturday, September 25, 2021
Brian T. Maye
By: Lynn Gosewisch
Brian, knew early on that he wanted to
be a lawyer, and his family had a lot to do with that
desire. He grew up in Auburn, New York, the youngest of four
children, in an Irish family that frequently argued politics and
sports around the kitchen table. The discussions were anchored by
his mother, a third-grade teacher, and his father, a counselor. But
it was his grandfather, a lawyer and judge, who gave Brian his
first glimpse into his future career. Participating in the family
debates forged in Brian the instinct for advocacy that made
becoming a lawyer inevitable. On becoming partner, Brian says it is
a high point in his career. He calls it, "a milestone every lawyer
strives to reach." This milestone compliments a career made
up of service and hard work.
After graduating from The University
of Akron School of Law, Brian delayed his law career and joined the
Peace Corps. He was assigned to teach English at a University in
Nikolaev, Ukraine. He immersed himself in Ukrainian culture,
learning their language and their way of life. In the two years and
three months he lived in Ukraine he never travelled back to the
United States. His time living in a country where people struggled
to get access to health care or help from their government gave him
a new perspective on life back home. "We are a very fortunate
society," he says of the United States.
When he returned home from Ukraine,
Brian joined the U.S. Navy and became a Judge Advocate General
Corps officer. His interest in the military evolved from his
father's service in the Army and his brother's service in the
Marines. Within three months of arriving at his first duty
station, Brian found himself as lead counsel trying a felony rape
case. As he reflects back on that case he says, "I was very
new. I had no idea what I was doing." He worked hard to compensate
for his lack of experience and in the end it paid off. The jury
came back with a full acquittal for his client. "I think one of the
reasons we prevailed in that case was that we were far more
prepared than the prosecutors," Brian says of that early
experience.
One trial in his military career
taught Brian that some cases require more than a knowledge of the
law. In a difficult child abuse case, Brian was compelled to
develop a special attorney-client relationship with a victimized
child. He got to know the young victim and became more
invested in the trial as he became her advocate. Brian claims that
as a prosecutor it is "part of your job to help the victim and seek
justice on their behalf." Brian secured a conviction, bringing some
relief to the victim who saw the perpetrator sentenced to 14 years
in prison. Brian describes that trial as being "very emotional." He
will never forget standing up in court to deliver the closing
argument to a jury full of military men and seeing some of them
with tears in their eyes.
In 2004 Brian was sent to Baghdad in
the first group of Navy lawyers tasked with creating the Central
Criminal Court of Iraq. As a Special Prosecutor he worked with the
Iraqi judicial system, investigating cases and handing over
evidence to Iraqi prosecutors in order build cases against
insurgents. He dined and drank tea with Iraqi judges who helped him
understand the culture and legal system. There is no jury in an
Iraqi trial. Instead, the fate of defendants is decided by judges.
According to Brian, "It didn't appear that there was due process.
Defendants had few rights." It was another experience that made him
grateful for his circumstances in life.
Home these days is Chicago, Illinois
where Brian currently lives with his wife and their three
children, He left the military in 2006 and became an
associate at Adler, Murphy and McQuillen LLP. Since
then, Brian's practice has focused primarily on the defense of
civil lawsuits with a particular emphasis in the firm's nationwide
aviation practice. The practical experience Brian gained early
in his career serves him well in his representation of airlines,
product manufacturers and other aviation entities.