By Chris Figueras, MAJ Legislative Director

The Maryland General Assembly convenes each year for 90 days, starting on the second Wednesday in January, engaging in critical discussions that shape the laws of Maryland. With 47 Senators and 141 Delegates deliberating on a range of issues, this is the time when laws are proposed, revised, and enacted with important impacts on our communities. At the Maryland Association for Justice (MAJ), our advocacy mission is clear: to champion and support laws that improve access to justice, ensure fair trials, and uphold the civil legal rights of your clients.

 

During the 2025 legislative session, several members of MAJ engaged alongside our lobby team, representing your clients’ interests by testifying before the legislature. Through the stories of clients – injured Marylanders - these MAJ members advocated for repealing the §11-108 non-economic damages cap, refining the punitive damages standard, enhancing workers' compensation statutes to benefit claimants, ensuring fair insurance practices, protecting the rights of abuse survivors, safeguarding third-party funding, challenging damage caps across various statutes, supporting members of the judiciary, expanding the statute of limitations for injuries caused by hazardous chemicals, and fighting attacks on the elimination of liability waivers.

 

Your Client = a Powerful Voice in the Legislature

One of the most significant moments of the 2025 legislative session occurred when two courageous clients of MAJ members testified before the Maryland House of Representatives and the Maryland Senate, sharing their personal stories. They spoke about how the Maryland cap on non-economic damages—under Courts and Judicial Proceedings §11-108— dramatically impacted their lives and legal cases. This powerful testimony helped legislators understand WHAT non-economic damages are and how these can be a crucial part of the legal claim. Their testimony described HOW defendants benefit from this law and how jury decisions are limited and reduced by the arbitrary amount of the cap. These clients told their stories through the lens of the personal harm they experienced.

 

Your Client = a Chance to be Heard

Your client can tell his/her story, too. Some clients will leave your office wanting to do more, wanting to change the laws. These clients can join you and the MAJ lobby team in advocating before the Maryland legislature in a future year. Your clients can tell their stories, explaining first-hand how changes in the law could ensure greater justice for all.

 

Your Client = A Voice to Residents of Maryland

MAJ launched the Maryland Accountability Alliance (MAA) to amplify the message that Maryland’s non-economic damages cap restricts victims’ access to justice through arbitrary limits on local juries. Through social media and grassroots advocacy, MAA is spreading the word about how these legal limitations undermine the value of a person’s life and pain following a catastrophic injury.

 

Thanks to MAA’s campaign, Marylanders are rallying behind the idea of restoring justice and holding wrongdoers accountable. And here is another way your clients can make a real impact: they can join this social media movement, sharing their own personal stories and raising awareness about the laws that affect them.

 

Through the work of MAA, we offered MAJ clients the opportunity to share their stories in professionally recorded video testimony. These powerful videos are not only shared with legislators but also broadcast to the public on social media, sparking broader conversations across the state, and igniting constituents to action. As a result of seeing these and other videos, Marylanders picked up the phone nearly 1,300 times to call legislators and emailed legislators over 25,000 times to send a message to the state legislature.

 

By recording their stories, your clients can join a growing group of voices helping Marylanders understand the injustices within our laws and motivating other Marylanders to get involved in advocacy for change.

 

Your Client, Their Story, Brighter Future

Now more than ever, Maryland legislators need to hear real stories to drive important legislative change. Your clients have the power to help shape the future of justice in our state. Together with MAJ, your client’s voice will be heard and amplified —not just in the courtroom, but across the state of Maryland.

 

If your clients are interested in participating in this advocacy in Annapolis or sharing their story through a recorded video, please reach out to us. Let’s work together to build a more just Maryland for all.

 

Thank you for your continued partnership in the fight for justice.

 

Biography

Chris Wheatley Figueras serves as the Legislative Director for the Maryland Association for Justice (MAJ). Ms. Figueras is passionate about civil justice and has led advocacy efforts for more than two decades.  Her work focuses on advancing legislation to protect consumer rights, victims’ rights, court procedure, safety in the use of public spaces, and more. She works toward building coalitions and collaborates with attorneys, experts, and community leaders to drive impactful policy changes and organize strategic advocacy initiatives. 

In addition to her role at MAJ, Ms. Figueras also serves as the Legislative Director for the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington DC (TLA-DC).  Prior to her advocacy work, Ms. Figueras practiced as a trial attorney with a focus on personal injury.

She is a member of the bar in both the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Ms. Figueras earned her J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law and holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Mary Washington College (now the University of Mary Washington).

Ms. Figueras lives in Maryland with her husband and three children where she is an active volunteer in programs supporting the unhoused, participates in international mission work and serves as a youth mentor in her church parish.