Gambrills, MD

Bruce Plaxen

Bruce Plaxen is the founding partner of Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A., with over 40 years of experience in personal injury litigation. He is currently the President of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), having previously served as Vice President (2023-2024), Secretary (2022-2023), Treasurer (2021), and Parliamentarian (2020). He has been on the Board of Governors for the Maryland Association for Justice (MAJ) since 1993, serving as President (2001-2002) and Chairman of the Political Action Committee (2001-2016 and 2018-2021). Plaxen has received numerous awards including the MAJ President's Award (2007, 2010, 2024), Maryland Trial Lawyer of the Year (2009), AAJ Wiedemann Wysocki Citation of Excellence (2003, 2010, 2016, 2020), AAJ Distinguished Service Award (2017), AAJ Above & Beyond Award (2019), AAJ Joe Tonahill Award (2023), AAJ Evergreen Award (2023), and was named an Influential Marylander by The Daily Record in 2025. He is also a Super Lawyers Top 100 Maryland attorney (2020-2025) and has been recognized by Super Lawyers for 19 consecutive years (2007-2025). He spearheaded the Trial Lawyers Care program, providing pro bono legal services to 9/11 victims' families, and received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy from the State University of New York at Albany in 2005 for these efforts.

David A. Muncy

David A. Muncy joined Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. upon graduation from law school in 2012 and was made a partner in the firm in 2017. He worked for both plaintiffs’ personal injury firms and an insurance defense firm, deciding to fight for injured people. In law school, he served on the Executive Board of the University of Baltimore Law Review, competed on the Robert Wagner Moot Court Team, and was selected for the Dean Search Committee. He also represented indigent criminal defendants as a Rule 16 Public Defender. He graduated from the University of Maryland College Park in 2009 and the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2012 magna cum laude, inducted into the Heuisler Honor Society. In 2018, David was elected Parliamentarian for the Maryland Association for Justice (MAJ), the youngest attorney in Maryland to hold an elected Officer position. He served as Secretary, Treasurer, and President-Elect before becoming President of MAJ in 2023. He sits on the MAJ Board of Governors and previously co-chaired the Young Lawyers Division, Membership Committee, and Auto Negligence Section. He has testified before the Maryland General Assembly on bills affecting injured victims' rights. David is also a member of the American Association for Justice and attends CLE programs. He was previously Co-Chair of the Howard County Bar Association’s Young Lawyer’s Division. David focuses his practice on personal injury, workers’ compensation, and Social Security Disability cases. He has tried hundreds of cases before various Maryland courts and commissions. In 2015, he was named to the Daily Record’s “20 in Their 20s,” and was selected for Super Lawyers’ list of Maryland Rising Stars (2017-2023). The National Trial Lawyers' Association also named him to the Top 40 under 40 list. In 2019, he was honored with MAJ’s Outstanding Service Award. In 2022, he was named to The Daily Record’s Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice Power List. Since 2013, David has volunteered with Wills for Heroes.

Samantha Dos Santos

Samantha Dos Santos joined Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. in August 2019 and was made Partner in March 2024. She served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Jeannie J. Hong in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. She attended The George Washington University where she played Division 1 Softball. She graduated cum laude from the American University Washington College of Law. During law school, she taught Constitutional Law and represented criminal defendants. She served on the Administrative Law Review and received ALR’s Exemplary Service Award. She is an active member of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA), selected for MSBA's Leadership Academy (2021-2022) and appointed to its Leadership Academy Committee (2022-2024, 2024-2026). In 2024, she was selected as a Maryland Bar Foundation Fellow and to the MSBA Board of Governors (At Large, 2024-2026). She is also a member of the Bar Association of Montgomery County and the Maryland Association for Justice. Her practice focuses exclusively on plaintiffs’ injury law. She has been recognized by Super Lawyers Rising Stars (Maryland, 2023-2025; District of Columbia, 2023) and The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40 (Maryland, 2023). She received the Lawdragon 500 X The Next Generation (Maryland, 2025) and Daily Record Generation J.D. Award (Maryland, 2025).

Harry R. Adler

Harry R. Adler had over 40 years of experience representing plaintiffs and claimants, becoming a named partner of Plaxen Adler Muncy in 1992. He was recognized as a top workers’ compensation attorney in Maryland. Harry graduated from The Johns Hopkins University in 1979 and the University of Baltimore School of Law with honors in 1982. He was an active member of the Maryland Association for Justice and other bar associations, and was recognized by Super Lawyers multiple times. He was appointed to the Howard County Judicial Nominating Commission and served as a mediator. Harry retired in 2015 after 25 years with the firm and passed away in August 2019.

Joshua A. Plaxen

Joshua A. Plaxen joined Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. in December 2015 and became a partner in 2021. He served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable William V. Tucker for the Circuit Court of Howard County (2012-2013). He also worked for the University of Maryland, Baltimore, drafting and negotiating Clinical Trial Agreements and Research Agreements. Joshua graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2008 with a B.S. in Business and from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2012 magna cum laude. He was inducted into the Heuisler Honor Society for finishing in the top ten percent of his class and served on the Executive Board of the University of Baltimore Law Review. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers Rising Stars for seven consecutive years (2019-2025).

Sara El-Shall is an Associate at Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. She was named to Super Lawyers Rising Stars in 2019.