I attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah where I obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree and majored in English. Following my undergraduate studies, I worked for a mid-size national law firm and then a smaller local law firm in Washington, D.C. and northern Virginia as a legal assistant before attending law school. During my two summers in law school, I worked as a law clerk in the general counsel’s office of two federal government agencies. I received my Juris Doctor degree from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Upon graduating from law school, I completed a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Philip T. Caroom at the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland Fifth Judicial Circuit. After my judicial clerkship, I practiced law in Anne Arundel County for a few years and then received an appointment from Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler as an Assistant Attorney General. Following my service to the citizens of Maryland in the Office of the Attorney General, I opened the Law Offices of Gary W. Desper. My diverse experience in both private and government practice and with the courts has prepared me well to meet the legal needs of my clients.

I am invested and rooted in the local community. My father was born in Baltimore City and my parents met and married in Maryland. I was born in Washington, D.C. and my first home was in Maryland. In 2005, my wife and I fell in love with Carroll County and chose to settle in Eldersburg. We have four children and all of us are happy to call Carroll County and Maryland our home. In my spare time I enjoy being with my family, running, biking and other outdoor activities. I also am actively involved in my church. I particularly enjoy spending time on the Torrey C. Brown Trail, formerly known as the Northern Central Railroad Trail.

Since 2011, Gary W. Desper has been an appointed Settlement Officer in the Circuit Court for Carroll County, Maryland where he is assigned to oversee mandatory pre-trial settlement conferences in civil cases involving negligence and personal injury, divorce and custody, and real estate disputes.