Legal Services & Lawyers

Mr. McManus has been practicing law for twenty years, and for the past ten years he has been a partner at the firm. He began his career as a law clerk for Judge Joseph Mattingly in St. Mary's County Maryland and then worked as a prosecutor in both St. Mary's and Prince George's County. His more noteworthy criminal cases include:

* In 1985, Michael John Desasrno was convicted of sexual child abuse for acts committed by the former highschool wrestling coach while acting in the capacity as a wrestling coach.

* In 1987, Mr. McManus successfully prosecuted Willie Horton for beating and raping an Oxon Hill woman. The case received national media attention in the 1988 presidential election between George Bush and Michael Dukakis. Willie Horton, serving a life sentence for murder, escaped from a Massachusetts prison furlough program to commit the rape, while Mr. Dukakis was governor of the state.

* In 1988, Mr. McManus convicted a trucker for Motor Vehicle manslaughter in the 1986 deaths of two highschool girls in Riverdale. A truck with 18 safety defects carrying hot asphalt stalled at the top of a hill and rolled into a car occupied by three highschool girls. One was severely injured and the other two died when nearly 14,000 pounds of hot asphalt was dumped on the car.

Mr. McManus has developed a reputation as one of the premier personal injury attorneys in Southern Maryland. He has successfully represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a number of major truck accident cases, and developed a specialty in negotiating complex personal injury settlements. Mr. McManus has lectured, along side several judges, at multiple personal injury seminars for lawyers. An 'AV' rated attorney, he is a member of the American Bar Foundation, the Maryland State Bar Foundation, the Governor's Trial Courts Nominating Commission, and has chaired or co-chaired the local bar's Tort Law Sub-Committee for the past seven years.

Sheila F. Fleshman is a partner at the firm of Sasscer, Clagett & Bucher. Ms. Fleshman's areas of practice focus primarily in litigation in the field of personal injury, including wrongful death, premises liability, and contractual matters.

Ms. Fleshman, who has lived in Prince George's County most of her adult life, developed her skills as an Assistant State's Attorney for several years by prosecuting a multitude of cases on behalf of the State of Maryland including homicides and other cases where individuals in the community were victims of violent crimes. During that time, Ms. Fleshman's accomplishments as a trial lawyer earned her an Honorary Governor's citation for her work as an Assistant State's Attorney.

Ms. Fleshman is an active litigator with over 20 years of experience. She strives to provide knowledgeable, caring and aggressive representation for her clients. Since Ms. Fleshman joined the firm of Sasscer, Clagett & Bucher in 1995, she has focused her practice in the area of personal injury. Ms. Fleshman represents those who have been injured in automobile accidents as the result of someone else's negligence. Various insurance companies also frequently retain the services of Ms. Fleshman to represent individuals who have been sued based upon allegations of negligence brought by another. Her ability to represent both the victims of negligence as well as those individuals who require a defense attorney in a negligence action, have provided her with unique insight into the world of personal injury litigation and an opportunity to view the process from all perspectives. Others in the legal community who consider Ms. Fleshman's record of success in the courtroom impressive, frequently refer cases to her in those situations where the matter at hand requires litigation skills.

Ms. Fleshman has also received training in a Skills-Based training course in civil mediation by the Maryland Institute for Continuing Education (MICPEL). She has served as a Mediator and as an Arbitrator of disputes between various individuals, business entities, and insurance companies.

Ms. Fleshman attended Sidwell Friends High School in Washington, D.C., Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, and the George Washington University School of Law in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Fleshman wholeheartedly recognizes the entitlement of all members of the community to quality legal representation regardless of social, economic, religious or racial backgrounds.