Attorneys:

Phillip B. Leiser
Owner

Education:

• Juris Doctor from the Pace University School of Law, 1997 cum laude
• Certificate of Concentration in Environmental Law
• Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Duke University, 1987

• Appellate Law
• Crime Victim Litigation
• Criminal Defense
• Defamation
• Family Law
• Malicious Prosecution
• Personal Injury

Experience: After serving as an officer for five years in the United States Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion and Engineering Program aboard the guided missile cruiser, USS Long Beach, Phillip began his legal career at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Shaw Pittman, where he worked in the nuclear regulatory field. After two years, Phillip ventured out on his own and began to build his own practice in Northern Virginia as a trial attorney. In 2000 he created the law firm of Leiser & Associates, ^PLLC, which has grown into the present firm. Mr. Leiser has handled numerous complex litigation cases, including jury trials, and has argued his clients’ cases before various trial courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as the Virginia Court of Appeals and the Virginia Supreme Court. Phillip has a knack for finding creative solutions to his client’s problems, such as in the case when he named a deceased man as a defendant in order to place into evidence tape recorded admissions he had made that also implicated a co-defendant, the real target of the lawsuit.

Bar Activities: Phillip served on the Board of Directors of the Fairfax Bar Association, as President of the Young Lawyers Section of the Fairfax Bar in 1999-2000 and was instrumental in developing the annual New Attorney Orientation program.

Presentations: Phillip has been a speaker at the National Crime Victims Bar Association annual conference and for the Fairfax Bar Association on the topic of Intentional Torts. Mr. Leiser has also been invited to speak at the National Youth Forum conference a number of times on careers in the law.

As the owner of the firm, Phillip strives to ensure that each client is provided with the highest quality service. He has personally selected each associate attorney and staff member based on his or her excellent qualifications to serve our clients.

Mr. Leiser is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the Fairfax Bar Association.

Karen A. Leiser
Managing Partner

 Education:

• Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center, 1996
• Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy from the Ohio University, 1992
  summa cum laude
• Minor in Psychology

• Civil Commitment
• Expungements
• Family Law
• Landlord and Tenant Law
• Personal Injury

Experience: Karen started her legal career as a staff attorney at Legal Services of Northern Virginia (LSNV) from 1997 to 2002, where she worked in the areas of housing and family law. She served as the Managing Attorney for the Fairfax branch of Legal Services from October 2000 through July 2002. She joined her husband’s law firm in 2002, as his Managing Attorney, where she has continued her practice in the areas of family law, landlord and tenant, and branched out into handling cases in other areas, including criminal and traffic defense and personal injury. Ms. Leiser has successfully argued cases before juries and on appeal to the Virginia Court of Appeals and has also presented cases before the Virginia Supreme Court. In one case, after the trial court refused to award her client any retirement benefits, Karen was able to convince the Virginia Court of Appeals to reverse the trial court’s ruling, and thereby obtained a significant portion of the husband’s retirement benefits for his wife of 27 years, after the husband stopped working early due to a disability. See the following link for the court’s opinion in that case: http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavwp/2947034.pdf.

Bar Activities: Karen was the co-chair of the Fairfax Bar Association’s (FBA) Law Practice Management Section (2006-2008). She also served as the co-chair of the FBA’s Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court Committee for two years, 2003-2005, and was a member of that committee since 1999. Karen also served on the Fairfax Bar’s Pro Bono Committee, as an alternate to the Judicial Screening Committee, and is a member of the Family Law Section. Karen previously served on the General District Court Committee and on the Board of the Young Lawyers Section.

Presentations: Throughout her career, Ms. Leiser has spoken on the topics of housing and family law for numerous trainings for Legal Services of Northern Virginia and for the Fairfax Bar Association. She has lectured on issues of jurisdiction, venue, service, and notice requirements in divorce cases for the past several years for the Fairfax Bar’s annual Uncontested Divorce seminar.

Volunteer Work: Ms. Leiser was awarded the Harry L. Carrico Pro Bono Award in 2005 by Legal Services of Northern Virginia and by various local bar associations. Her activities include regularly serving on the LSNV Pro Bono Hotline and handling other referrals as needed. Karen also serves as a motions Conciliator on behalf of the bar, conducts court tours for 8th grade students, and she has served on the court appointed panel for defense of civil commitments for people with mental illness.

Ms. Leiser is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar and the Fairfax Bar Association.

Thomas F. Hennessy
Partner

Education:

• Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law, 1988
• Bachelor of Arts in History from Columbia College, Columbia University, 1983

• Business & Civil Litigation
• Contracts
• Criminal and Traffic Defense
• Employment Law
• Family Law
• Medical Malpractice
• Personal Injury

Experience: Mr. Hennessy worked at other law firms for six years and then maintained his own practice for another twelve years before joining forces with the Leisers to form Leiser, Leiser & Hennessy, ^PLLC. Tom has represented clients in all areas of civil and criminal litigation, including appellate law. He has handled hundreds of cases, an estimated 200 trials, including jury trials, as well as contested motions, and arguments before the Virginia Court of Appeals and the Virginia Supreme Court. Most notably, he prevailed on a case for 365 employees of a ship-repair company who were denied their paychecks for work performed, although the employer had received the money through a federal contract. Tom was able to successfully sue the bank where the funds were being held in order to recover the unpaid wages. In another case, Tom appealed to the Virginia Court of Appeals and obtained an award of back spousal support for a client in excess of $143,000: http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavwp/1809053.pdf.  

Presentations: Mr. Hennessy has spoken on the issues of Labor and Employment Law to Human Resources employees at numerous companies. He has also spoken at the annual convention of the statewide firefighters union.

Mr. Hennessy is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Florida State Bar, and the Fairfax Bar Association.

David G. Hubbard
Associate Attorney

• Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law, 2000
• Bachelor of Arts in English from James Madison University, 1994

• Civil Litigation
• Criminal Defense
• Defamation
• Family Law
• Landlord and Tenant
• Personal Injury
• Traffic Defense
• Wills and Estates

Experience: Mr. Hubbard has handled numerous trials, including jury trials, and has argued cases before the Virginia Court of Appeals. David has a wealth of experience handling felony cases involving homicide, sexual assault, crimes against children, burglary and larceny, controlled substances, and firearms, as well as all misdemeanor and traffic offenses. In the traffic arena, he has a high level of experience with habitual offender defense, license restoration, DUI defense, driving on suspended, accident cases, and more. Mr. Hubbard is also well-versed in the complexities of family law, having handled many contested divorces, including equitable distribution of marital property and issues regarding the children, such as custody and child support. He has also handled insurance, bankruptcy, personal injury, and estate planning. David gained experience at other law firms, then set up his own practice before joining the LLH team.

Bar Activities: David was an Executive Board Member of Moot Court in law school and chairman of the competition, winning the Best Oral Advocate Award in 1999 at the ABA’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition Regional Quarterfinals and took second place in the 1998 Barnett Moot Court Competition. He served as a Senior Staff and Lead Articles Editor of the Richmond Journal of Law and Technology. He also served on the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association & Advocacy Board and was a member of the American Inns of Court.

Volunteer Work: Mr. Hubbard has served as court-appointed counsel for indigent defendants on numerous criminal cases throughout his years of practice. David went to law school because he has an unwavering desire to help people and the community in which he lives.

Mr Hubbard is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the Fairfax Bar Association.

James Magner
Associate Attorney

• Juris Doctor from George Mason University School of Law, 2000
• Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992, with a Minor in Psychology

• Civil Litigation
• Criminal Defense
• Employment Law
• Personal Injury

Experience: Mr. Magner has gained vast experience at a number of law firms, including his own practice, before joining LLH. He has handled numerous trials, including jury trials, and has appeared in various state Circuit Courts and General District Courts, as well as Federal District Courts. James has appealed cases before the Virginia Supreme Court and the Virginia Court of Appeals. His cases have included issues of contract disputes, employment law, construction law, commercial and residential real estate, corporate law, estate planning, personal injury, collections, business litigation, criminal and traffic defense. Through his efforts, Mr. Magner has saved his clients hundreds of thousands of dollars. While in law school Jim received honors from the GMUSL Moot Court Board and was a law clerk with the Fairfax County Circuit Court.

Presentations: James has appeared on both local radio and television as a legal expert in the Norfolk area. He also taught as an adjunct professor of Political Science and Pre-Law courses at Old Dominion University from 2005 through 2008 and taught litigation preparation and Economics at Tidewater Community College from 2003 through 2008.

Mr. Magner is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the Fairfax Bar Association.

Jeffrey S Saradar
Associate Attorney

• Juris Doctor from William and Mary, School of Law, 2001
• Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Washington and Jefferson College, 1998, cum laudee

• Criminal and Traffic Defense
• Family Law
• Landlord and Tenant
• Medical Malpractice
• Personal Injury

Experience: Mr. Saradar opened his own practice straight out of law school, which he ran as a solo practitioner for six years before joining the LLH team. He has handled a variety of civil and criminal litigation, including a number of jury trials, divorces, custody disputes, personal injury, landlord/tenant, and criminal defense, and has appeared in numerous state and federal courts, as well as on appeals to the Virginia Supreme Court and Virginia Court of Appeals. In his only “death penalty” case, he was able to have the life of his client’s dog spared, after he proved it was a case of mistaken identity and another dog had killed the chickens.

Honors: Jeffrey was honored with a number of scholarships in school, including a Merit Scholarship and Siegfried Scholarship at William and Mary and the Presidential Merit Scholarship at Washington and Jefferson College, which he received for eight semesters, as well as making the Dean’s List numerous times.

Mr. Saradar is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the Fairfax Bar Association.

Stephanie D. Yost
Associate Attorney

• Juris Doctor from Washington and Lee University, School of Law, 2007
  cum laude
• Graduate Certificate in Women, Policy, and Political Leadership from American University, School of Public Affairs, 2003
• Bachelor of Science in Commerce from University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce, 2000
• Concentrations in Marking and Management
• Minor in American Government

• Civil Litigation
• Criminal Defense
• Employment Law
• Family Law
• Wills and Estates

Experience: : Stephanie honed her legal skills at the Community Legal Practice Center in Lexington, Virginia, and at Legal Aid of West Virginia in Charleston, before joining Leiser, Leiser & Hennessy. Before law school Stephanie gained real world experience as an Area Sales Manager and Assistant Buyer for Hechts Department Stores, where she worked for more than two years. She also interned for the Honorable Louise Slaughter in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Bar Activities: Ms. Yost received the Outstanding Law Student Award from the National Association of Women Lawyers for her law school in 2007. She served as the President of her law school’s Women Law Students Organization, as well as Vice President, and First Year Officer. She was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society; was the Executive Editor for the Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice; was a clerk for Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International; was Vice President of Relations for the American Constitution Society, and served as the Communications and Public Relations Chairperson for the Washington and Lee Virginia Bar Association Law School Council.

Volunteer Work: Ms. Yost performed community service with the Lexington-Rockbridge Jaycees from 2006 to 2007 and served on the Fashion Show Committee for the Beauty Revue Against Violent Encounters (BRAVE) from 2004 to 2005.

Ms. Yost is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the Fairfax Bar Association.