Gregory F. Birney graduated cum laude from New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. Before leaving Maryland for law school, Greg was a life-long Cecil County resident. Greg is admitted to practice in and has appeared in courts in Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.
Prior to law school, Greg graduated in 2006 with an AA in General Studies from Cecil Community College and from the University of Delaware as a Spanish Studies major in 2012. While working his way through college, Greg served as the manager and Vice President of Cherry Hill Liquors in Elkton, Maryland. At the age of 18 he was one of the youngest retail liquor licensees in the State of Maryland. Throughout the decade in the liquor business, Greg came to realize that few lawyers understood the complexities involved with one of the most heavily regulated industries in America.
Throughout law school and while awaiting bar exam results, Greg clerked for Boston Attorney John P. Connell whose clients come from all three tiers of the alcoholic beverages industry. During law school, Greg was the top scoring student in the Constitutional Law and Wills, Estates & Trusts II courses. With a focus on alcoholic beverages issues and estate planning during law school, these two practice areas represent Greg’s leading legal interests.
While preparing for and awaiting the results of the Pennsylvania bar exam, Greg was a temporary legal assistant for six months at The Boston Beer Company, makers of Samuel Adams. At The Boston Beer Company, Greg interacted regularly with state regulators throughout the United States to ensure compliance with label regulations for beer and cider products.
While most of Greg’s practice interests include estate planning and liquor law, other areas of interest include business law, consumer protection, debt collection defense, and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act matters. Greg is also interested in cases that utilize his ability to practice law in multiple states.
Greg believes in using his law licenses to better the community. As such, he has volunteered time to assist survivors of domestic violence in Protection from Abuse (PFA) matters in Delaware through Delaware Volunteer Legal Services. Furthermore, Greg has accepted pro bono appointments in child custody cases through the Chester County Access to Justice program. Greg has regularly volunteered as an estate planning attorney for the Wills for Heroes program serving first-responders and veterans in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
In addition to pro bono matters, since its creation in 2015, Greg has served on the Board of Directors for the Court Appointed Special Advocates program. CASA assists the Cecil County Circuit Court with making decisions to better the lives of foster children from Cecil County. From 2018 to 2019, Greg served as President of CASA of Cecil County, Inc., and as Vice President at all other times during the organization’s existence.
Greg is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the Delaware State Bar Association and is a past member of the Chester County (PA) Bar Association and the Boston (MA) Bar Association.