Melvin J. Sykes, a Baltimore lawyer who left his mark not only on Maryland law but on generations of young lawyers, died Monday at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. The Pikesville resident of 93.

The cause of death has not been determined, family members said.

"I had the privilege of presiding over appellate cases that Mel presented, and he was such a master at it," said Judge Joseph F. Murphy Jr., who retired from the Court of Appeals in 2011 and is now in private practice.

"He had a general law practice — he excelled at everything — but if he had one specific area of the law, it would be appellate litigation," said Judge Murphy, who earlier served as chief judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. "He was a Renaissance man in addition to being a great lawyer."

"I'm not given to hyperbole, but there is no question in my mind that Mel Sykes has been for the last 50 years the premier lawyer in the state of Maryland," said Shale D. Stiller, a friend of 60 years, who is a partner at DLA Piper.

"His intelligence was...read more at Baltimore Sun