Christopher D. Mudd

Partner
Christopher Mudd

Chris Mudd represents local, regional, and national clients in all stages of the land development process, from beginning to end, in multiple jurisdictions in Maryland, including Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Carroll County, and the city of Westminster. Chris has experience with negotiating purchase contracts and lease agreements, analyzing title issues, assessing zoning and land use issues, navigating state and local administrative approval processes, and assisting clients with development project close-outs and permitting. He also works on administrative appeals of land use decisions, from the local appeals board through the Maryland Court of Appeals, and lends support on other real estate related litigation.  

Experience

Representative Matters

  • Assisted a Baltimore-area institution in obtaining a special exception and related development approvals for a proposed use in rural Baltimore County that garnered significant community opposition; assisted in writing briefs to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals and the Maryland Court of Appeals, and ultimately obtained a ruling affirming the grant of the special exception and development approvals in a reported opinion that has become the precedent for special exception law in Maryland
  • Assisted a Baltimore County institution with a multifaceted defense of numerous development-related approvals before the hearing officer of Baltimore County, the Board of Appeals, the Circuit Court, the Court of Special Appeals, and the Court of Appeals
  • Assisted a commercial developer in obtaining entitlements for a fuel service station project in Baltimore County, and defended against appeals in the Circuit Court and Court of Special Appeals by a competitor station

Insights

Credentials
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Education

  • J.D. Villanova University School of Law 2004
    • Managing Editor of Student Works, Villanova Sports & Entertainment Law Journal
  • B.A. University of Notre Dame 2001

Bar Admissions

  • Maryland

Clerk Experience

  • Honorable J. Norris Byrnes Circuit Court for Baltimore County

Professional Memberships and Activities

  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member and former chair, Baltimore County Bar Association; State, Local Laws & Zoning Committee
  • Member, Maryland State Bar Association
 

Recognition
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  • The Best Lawyers in America 
    • Land Use and Zoning Law, 2023 – 2025
    • Litigation - Real Estate, 2023 – 2025
    • Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Real Estate, Baltimore, 2025
  • Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, Maryland, 2012 – 2018