About Jack Olender

Jack H. Olender is president of the malpractice law firm Jack H. Olender and Associates, PC. He has served as president of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, the Trial Lawyers Association, D.C., the American Board of Trial Advocates, D.C., and the George Washington American Inn of Court. Mr. Olender was the first lawyer in the District of Columbia certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Since winning the nation’s first multi-million dollar obstetric malpractice verdict in 1976, he has won or settled more than 200 cases upwards of $1 million each.

Jack Olender has been featured on numerous network, cable, and local television and radio programs, including 60 Minutes, 48 Hours and, Larry King Live.  D.C. area media have repeatedly called Jack Olender the “King of Malpractice” and his firm has been described as “the local heavyweight malpractice law firm” by the Washington Business Journal. In a December 2004 profile of Washington’s top 30 lawyers, Washingtonian magazine said, “of all the medical-malpractice lawyers in the country, none is more feared or recognized than Jack Olender…”The four senior trial attorneys are all named in Best Lawyers in America and in Super Lawyers, published byLaw and Politics again in 2014.

Mr. Olender is a diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys and Inner Circle of Advocates (limited to 100 of the very best malpractice and personal injury lawyers in the country). He is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, Who’s Who in Law, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in the World. He and his law firm have a rating of “AV,” the highest possible grade for legal ability from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

Olender has been honored numerous times for his legal excellence, stalwart advocacy on behalf of the injured, and concern for human and civil rights. Recently, Jack Olender was honored by the Legal Times as one of “The 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years.” Selected as a Visionary, Attorney Olender was the only malpractice/personal injury lawyer to be honored. He has been named Lawyer of the Year by both the Bar Association, D.C. and by the Trial Lawyers Association, D.C. and is a recipient of the prestigious Charles Hamilton Houston Medallion of Merit of the Washington Bar Association. Other honors include the Champion of Justice Award and Outstanding Leader Award of the Trial Lawyers Association, D.C., two Presidential Awards of the National Bar Association, Commitment to Justice Award of B’nai B’rith International, the Ollie May Cooper Award and President’s Award of the Washington Bar Association, the Champion of Democracy Award of D.C. Vote, the Greater Washington Urban League’s Community Service Award, and awards for Distinguished Alumnus of the Year from the University of Pittsburgh Law School and of the George Washington University Law School. At its 30th anniversary celebration, consumer watchdog organization Public Citizen honored Jack Olender for his “groundbreaking achievements in bringing accountability to American medicine” and his “tireless dedication to the welfare of the citizens of Washington through advocacy and philanthropy.” He has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the District of Columbia, the Washington Bar Association and the National Bar Association.

Along with his wife, Lovell, Jack Olender, is founder of the Olender Foundation, which exists to promote opportunity and equality, especially for the citizens of the District of Columbia. The National Bar Association has honored them both as Advocates for Justice.

Jack Olender is currently a board member of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, African-American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation, Council for Court Excellence, and Greater Washington Urban League. He serves on the Executive Committees of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys and the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Pittsburgh Law School and of the Howard University Law School, and serves on the board of the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law Foundation.

Jack Olender lectures regularly on malpractice and trial law to bar associations and medical societies, and has published extensively on legal and medical issues. His commentaries and articles appeared in ABA Journal, Afro-American Newspapers, Everyday Law, Federal Lawyer, Group Practice Journal, NBA Magazine, The National Law Journal, Trial Magazine, The Washington Business Journal, The Washington Post, The Washington Legal Times and numerous other periodicals.

Mr. Olender is a summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. He received his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh Law School, and a Master of Laws in Forensic Medicine from George Washington University. He is a member of the D.C., Maryland, and Pennsylvania Bars.

To learn a lot more about Jack Olender and his legal career click here to view his oral history by the District of Columbia Circuit Historical Society.