Michael Stover has practiced law for over 27 years. He joined Wright, Constable & Skeen to help lead the Surety & Fidelity law practice at the firm, which has become one of the most well-recognized practices nationally in the surety industry. While Mr. Stover practices predominately in surety and construction law, he is also well experienced in government contracts, professional liability, and general litigation. He is distinguished professionally for his work, earning recognition as a “Super Lawyer®” in surety law from 2015-2018, “The Best Lawyers in America®” for Construction Law from 2013–2019. He also holds the AV Preeminent Peer Review rating from Martindale-Hubbell and the highest rating on AVVO.
In the surety industry, Mr. Stover has represented most of the major surety companies as well as many mid-size and smaller companies. He has been involved as counsel on large multi-state, multi-project contract performance bond defaults, involving workouts, financing and takeovers as well as large national bankruptcy matters for commercial bond sureties. He has also represented sureties in pursuing indemnity, salvage and subrogation rights. Over the years, he has been very active in the surety industry writing articles, giving presentations and attending/sponsoring conferences around the country. He spearheaded the creation of the Philadelphia Surety Claims Association and is a founding Officer and member of the Board of Directors. In 2016, he was named a Vice Chair of the ABA/TIPS – Fidelity and Surety Law Committee and continues to serve in that capacity today. Also, in 2016, he updated Chapter 10, Payment Bond Surety’s Right to Contract Proceeds, in the ABA publication titled The Law of Payment Bonds, 2d Ed. In 2015, he co-authored Chapter 4, Financing the Principal in the ABA publication titled the Bond Default Manual, 4th Ed. and prior to that he co-authored Chapter 20, The Commercial Surety’s Collateral in a Principal’s Bankruptcy Case in the ABA publication titled The Law of Commercial Surety and Miscellaneous Bonds, 2d Ed.
In May 2016, Mr. Stover spearheaded the creation of the Surety Today® telebriefing program. Surety Today® is a conference call educational resource for professionals in the surety industry presented monthly by the attorneys of the Surety Law Group at Wright, Constable and Skeen. Surety Today® telebriefings offer 30 minutes of in-depth discussion on topics of narrow focus and practical importance to those in the industry. Mr. Stover hosts the program and has presented extensively on numerous surety related topics. The presentations are recorded and can be found as podcasts on Podbean.com and are also transcribed and can be found at wcslaw.com and suretytoday.net.
In the construction industry, Mr. Stover has represented fortune 500 contractors, architects, engineers, subcontractors, suppliers and owners in a wide variety of matters. From negotiating and drafting contracts, to preparing and filing claims, bid protests, mechanics liens, litigation, collections, mediations and arbitrations. He also regularly presents seminars for the construction industry and he is the editor and frequent contributor to the Wright, Constable & Skeen construction newsletter The Wright Toolbox. In 2018, Mr. Stover’s article, A Guide to Builder’s Risk Insurance, was published in the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, Issue 3.
Professional liability has always been a favored area of practice for Mr. Stover. He has represented architects, engineers and lawyers who have been sued for malpractice and has represented lawyers in professional grievance matters.
Mr. Stover is very active in a number of legal and professional groups and has held a variety of leadership roles. He is a Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation and a former member of the Maryland State Bar Association Board of Governors, Executive Committee and former Chair of the Young Lawyers’ Section. Regional and national memberships include the American Bar Association’s Fidelity & Surety Law Committee, Vice Chair, Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Surety Claims Association, Board of Directors of the Northeast Surety and Fidelity Claims Conference, the National Bond Claims Association, and the Chicago Surety Claims Association.
Mr. Stover grew up in Severna Park, Maryland and studied both as an undergraduate and as a law student at the University of Maryland.
Fun facts: Played football in high school, married high school sweetheart, have 7 children and 2 grandchildren, second child was born in the backseat of our car.