About Mary-Dulany James

A graduate with honors of the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Maryland School of Law, Mary-Dulany James was one of twenty-four law graduates to receive a United States Federal Clerkship in Maryland working for the Honorable Edward S. Northrop, Former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the State of Maryland who was the last judicial appointment made by the late President John F. Kennedy. 

During the interim between undergraduate studies and law school Mary-Dulany worked at Piper and Marbury, now know as Piper LLC, and during and after law school, she worked at several other of Maryland's most prestigious law firms before being made a partner at Venable, LLC. In 2003, Mary-Dulany started her own law practice in Havre de Grace. Her background is in business and commercial litigation.

Prior to becoming a Delegate, Mary-Dulany served on the board of directors of the Harford County Land Trust as its treasurer, as a member of the Board of the Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis (SARC) serving as its Treasurer and also serving an appointment by former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening to the Board of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) as Treasurer.

First elected to the Maryland General Assembly in 1998, Mary-Dulany James has been elected to an additional three terms as a Delegate from Harford and Cecil Counties in Maryland, with her most recent election in November 2010. She is a member of the Appropriations Committee, and has served as Chair of the Health and Government Operations Subcommittee for four years. Previously, Mary-Dulany served as the Vice-Chair of the Transportation and the Environment Subcommittee as well as Chair of the Pensions Subcommittee. In her role as chair of the Health and Human Resources Subcommittee and because of her significant legal experience, Mary-Dulany is regularly engaged in other committees that have overlapping jurisdiction, including the Health and Government Operations Committee and the Judiciary Committee, as was the case with the False Claims Act of 2010. In addition to the False Claims Act, Mary-Dulany played a significant role in passage of legislation across a broad spectrum of policy areas, not the least of which was Maryland's law prohibiting protesters at military funerals. Delegate James' law was argued in a case before the United States Supreme Court on October 6, 2010. 

Due to her contributions in the legislature Mary-Dulany earned numerous awards including the Legislator of the Year award from the Health Facilities of Maryland, the Freshman Legislator of the Year and two awards from veterans groups that had never previously been bestowed upon a female non-veteran. Additionally, during her time as a Delegate, Mary-Dulany has served as the Speaker of the House's representative to the Maryland Environmental Trust (MET), an organization created by the late State Senator William S. James, former President of the Maryland Senate, and Mary-Dulany's father. Also of significance, Delegate James serves on three Councils or Committees that are charged with continuous oversight regarding Maryland's integration of BRAC (the United States Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure program) under which Maryland benefited more significantly than any other state in the nation.

The mother of three children, Mary-Dulany resides on her Old Bay Farm outside of Havre de Grace, Maryland where she continues to manage the farm's operations as its fourth generation owner.