Thecla Bethel is a practicing lawyer in the District of Columbia.

Manuel R. Geraldo is an accomplished legal professional and principal in the law firm of Robinson & Geraldo. His areas of practice include business litigation, contract dispute, workers compensation, and real estate litigation. Manny’s prior professional positions include Director and General Counsel for the District of Columbia Private Industry Council, litigation and legislative counsel in the Office of the General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, membership on the Newark Commission on Human Rights, and Executive Director for the Congress of Portuguese Speaking People. Manny was appointed by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to the Maryland Board of Airport Zoning Appeals in 2010 and as Chair of the Board in 2012. He also previously served as a Commissioner on the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, including a term as Chair of the Commission. A long-time committed community activist and volunteer, Manny currently serves as a Director on the Board of the Prince George’s County Community Foundation, a Director for the Portuguese American Leadership Council, Director and Vice President of the Pro Bono Resource Center, Board Member of the YMCA, and a member of the Maryland Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Pro Bono Service. Manny earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Seton Hall University in 1972, a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers School of Law in 1977, and a Master’s degree in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University in 1984. Manny is admitted to the Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, District of Columbia, and Virginia Bars. A resident of Fort Washington, Maryland, he is married and has three children, and is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish.

Alexander J. Geraldo, Esq. is an experienced attorney with deep roots in Prince George’s County, Maryland. A graduate of St. John’s College High School (2006) and Temple University (2010), he developed a passion for law while working in Intergovernmental Affairs for Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III, tracking legislation in Annapolis. This experience led him to earn his Juris Doctor (Cum Laude) from the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he was a member of the Civil Law Advocacy Clinic and an editor for the Journal of Land and Development. Mr. Geraldo began his legal career as a judicial law clerk for Judge Cathy H. Serrette in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County before joining Joseph Greenwald & Laake as a Litigation Associate. In 2018, he joined Robinson & Geraldo, PC, where he is now a Senior Attorney. An active member in the legal community, Mr. Geraldo serves as President of the Board of Directors for Prince George’s County Community Legal Services (CLS) and has been a board member since 2018. He is a Fellow and Chair of the Maryland Bar Foundation and remains actively involved with the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA), having previously served on the Young Lawyers’ Division and the Continuing Legal Education Committee. He currently serves on the Judicial Appointments Committee and was elected to the MSBA Board of Governors for the 2025–2027 term. He also serves as a Board of Director for the Prince George’s County Bar Association, recently being elected as its Secretary, previously serving as Co-Chair of its Young Lawyers’ Committee. Additionally, he is on the Board of Directors for the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association, a member of the J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association, and the Washington, D.C. Bar Association. In 2025, he was elected to serve as a Delegate to the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates representing the District of Columbia Bar. Mr. Geraldo is admitted to practice law in Maryland, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Washington, D.C., the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and Virginia.

Pontius Tax Law, PLLC strives to resolve sensitive tax problems through trust, dedication, and value. The law firm was founded by John Pontius. Mr. Pontius regularly represents individual and business clients with sensitive and serious tax matters before the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities. His client base is local, national and international. Over the course of his career, Mr. Pontius has represented businesses and individuals with complex tax issues in the following areas: FBAR examinations, offshore disclosures, FATCA, tax planning, unfiled tax returns, release of tax liens and levies, trust fund recovery penalty, IRS and state audit examinations as well as Appeals, penalty abatement, US Tax Court litigation along with defense of tax fraud and evasion. Mr. Pontius has extensive examination experience with federal and state audits, protests of proposed adjustments and audit reconsideration. He represents clients on tax liens and levies, collection due process hearings, offers in compromises and requests for penalty abatement. He has experience with employment tax issues such as worker classification and the trust fund recovery penalty. Prior to founding Pontius Tax Law, PLLC, Mr. Pontius practiced for five years at Maryland tax controversy law firms in Rockville, Annapolis, and Bethesda. Mr. Pontius has two years’ experience in the international corporate tax group at KPMG in Tysons Corner, Virginia where he researched and analyzed a wide range of complex tax matters in the areas of compliance, provision, planning, and restructuring. At the accounting firm, Mr. Pontius worked with a broad range of U.S. multi-national and foreign-owned clients doing business as corporations and partnerships in the communications, financial services, and defense contractor industries.