Herbert Better is a 1965 graduate of the Johns Hopkins University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and an Honorable Mention All-American midfielder on the Hopkins lacrosse team. At the University of Maryland Law School, Mr. Better was a member of the Maryland Law Review. He received his law degree in 1968.
In 1972, he became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. Mr. Better was named the First Assistant U.S. Attorney in 1978 and served in that position until 1983. While serving as the First Assistant, Mr. Better was appointed by the U.S. District Court in 1981 to serve as U.S. Attorney. He left the U.S. Attorney's Office in 1987 to open the firm's Baltimore office.
In 1995, Baltimore Magazine named Mr. Better one of the top five white collar criminal defense lawyers, based on a survey of peers. Mr. Better is a member of the U.S. District Court's Liaison Committee, a committee of lawyers and judges who work together on issues concerning the practice of law in the Court. He also is one of two lawyers serving on the Court's Attorney Admissions Fund Committee. In 2001, the judges of the U.S. District Court awarded him the Court's Pro Bono Service Award.
In 2003, the Maryland Chapter of the Federal Bar Association presented Mr. Better the Peter A. DiRito Award for his outstanding and dedicated service to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and to the Maryland Chapter.
Mr. Better is a former president of the Maryland Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and of the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association.
Mr. Better's practice emphasizes complex civil and criminal litigation. He also is a member of Maryland ADR Services, Inc., a select group of Maryland lawyers with training in mediation.
Mr. Better is admitted to practice in Maryland, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Tax Court.