Law Firm Overview

Leonard Paul Buscemi, the founder and sole proprietor of The Law Offices of Leonard P. Buscemi, is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

Mr. Buscemi, born December 18, 1953 in Niagara Falls, New York, received his Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1976 and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Antioch School of Law in Washington, DC in 1980.

Antioch Law School was created in 1972 by Yale law graduates, Edgar S. and Jean Camper Cahn, who championed the rights of low-income people and minorities. The school was committed to training public interest lawyers and pioneered a comprehensive clinical legal education model adopted now, in small part at least, in nearly every law school in America. This tradition is carried on today by its successor, the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law.

Mr. Buscemi's courtroom experience began at Antioch in 1978 when he participated in the D.C. Law Student in Court Program representing indigent clients in juvenile, family, immigration, and disability law cases.

In 1979, he was selected by Judge Leonard Braman of the District of Columbia Superior Court to intern in a Felony II rotation. That same year he worked as a criminal investigator in District of Columbia Superior Court under the Criminal Justice Act investigating assault, armed robbery, and arson cases for Washington, D.C. for criminal defense attorney Richard Stern.

In his senior year of law school (1979), Mr. Buscemi was appointed Special Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia where he prosecuted misdemeanor cases in the District of Columbia Superior Court. In the thirty substantive hearings and five trials he represented the United States, the rulings made by the court and the verdicts returned were all in favor of the government.

In his final semester of law school, Judge Braman, who was then assigned to Superior Court's most complex civil cases (Civil I Rotation), invited Mr. Buscemi to return for an internship managing cases, writing, researching, and participating in all court and chamber proceedings. The value of this legal experience can be appreciated by those who know Judge Braman, a distinguished jurist of great intellect and exacting standards.

By the time he graduated from law school in 1980, Mr. Buscemi had already clocked over 2,000 hours of courtroom experience. Immediately following graduation from law school, he began working for the law firm of Koonz, McKenney & Johnson in Washington, D.C., first as a law clerk for the senior partner in the corner of his private office where like an apprentice he watched, listened, researched, wrote, and assisted in the preparation of the firm's most challenging cases.

In June 1981 Mr. Buscemi became an associate attorney with the firm. From June 19, 1981 to July 2, 1985 he acted as sole counsel for hundreds of clients in injury, malpractice, product liability, and disability cases.

On July 2, 1985, Mr. Buscemi established his own law practice, The Law Offices of Leonard P. Buscemi. All tolled, Mr. Buscemi has represented clients in over 1,200 cases as lead counsel, and in most instances, sole counsel for the plaintiff in trials, hearings and appeals involving complex facts and notable legal issues against large corporations and law firms.

In addition to malpractice, product liability, and other accident/injury cases, Mr. Buscemi has lead a wide variety of other civil litigations such contracts, trusts, estates, etc.

Mr. Buscemi has been rated "AV", as possessing the highest level of experience, skill, integrity and professional excellence by Martindale-Hubbell, the nation's premier peer review attorney rating system.

Mr. Buscemi is a member in good standing of the following:

         United States Supreme Court

         District of Columbia Court of Appeals

         Supreme Court of Virginia

         Maryland Court of Appeals

         United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

         United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

         United States District Court of the District of Columbia

         United States District Courts of Virginia: Eastern & Western Divisions

         United States District Courts of Maryland: Northern & Southern Divisions

         United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

         Trial Lawyers of Association of Metropolitan Washington, DC

Mr. Buscemi has appeared as lead counsel in the following courts:

District of Columbia:

         Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Virginia:   

         Arlington County

         City of Alexandria

         City of Richmond

         Essex County

         Fairfax County

         Fauquier County

         King George County

         Loudon County

         Northumberland County

         Prince William County

         Rockingham County

         Williamsburg- James City County

Maryland:

         Anne Arundel County

         Baltimore City Montgomery County

         Prince George's County

         Washington County

Federal:

         Alexandria, Virginia

         Baltimore, Maryland

         Greenbelt, Maryland

         Roanoke, Virginia

         Washington, D.C.

Areas of Practice

• Administrative Law
• Contracts
• Construction Law
• Criminal Law
• DUI/DWI
• Traffic Violations
• Estate Planning
• Trusts
• Wills
• Ethics & Professional Responsibility
• Social Security -- Disability
• Health & Health Care Law
• Nursing Home
• Litigation & Appeals
• Personal Injury -- Defense
• Personal Injury -- Plaintiff
• Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff
• Probate & Estate Administration
• Products Liability Law
• Professional Malpractice Law
• Legal Malpractice
• Medical Malpractice
• Real Estate Law
• Toxic Torts
• Workers' Compensation Law

Honors and Awards

• "AV" Rating by Martindale-Hubbell

Published Works

• David Beats Goliath Third Time, The Washington Times, July 31, 1987
• Ups and Downs, D.C. Legal Times, August 3, 1987
• Million-Dollar Verdict, D.C. Legal Times, October 15, 1990
• Dental suit yields $4 million, The Washington Times, May 1, 1992
• Chevy Chase dentist to pay $3.2 million suit, The Montgomery Express, May 5, 1993
• Will Contest - Limitations - Unsound Mind, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, October 12, 1994
• Daily Washington Law Reporter, Negative Evidence, April 19, 1996
• Dentist Sued Over Alleged Nerve Damage, The Hagerstown Herald-Mail, November 15, 1997
• Medical Trust - Fiduciary Duty -Disabled Adult - Medical vs. Custodial Care, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, June 2, 2003
• Premises Liability - Office Plaza - Detached Door - Federal Center Plaza, Metro Verdicts Monthly, Volume 2, No. 2, P. 41, September, 1989
• Auto/Truck Accident -Rear-End - Stopped at Light, Metro Verdicts Monthly, Volume 2, No. 4, P. 163, November, 1989
• Auto/Pedestrian Accident - Crossing Outside Crosswalk, Metro Verdicts Monthly, Volume 2, No. 9, P. 354, September, 1990
• Worksite Accident - Maintenance Workers - Burns, Metro Verdicts Monthly, Volume 2, No. 12, P. 470, October, 1990
• Assault & Battery - Altercation at Health Spa, Metro Verdicts Monthly, Volume 4, No 6, P. 204, March, 1992
• Dental Malpractice - Injection - Nerve Damage, Metro Verdicts Monthly, Volume 4, No.7, P. 243, April, 1992
• Dental Malpractice - Injection - Loss of Speech, Metro Verdicts Monthly, Volume 5, No. 8, P. 289, April, 1993
• Elevator - Sudden Acceleration & Stop Maintenance, Metro Verdicts Monthly, Volume 6, No. 1, P. 3, August, 1993
• Passenger Injured WMATA Bus Door - Defective Safety Device, WUSA Channel 9, April 24, 1987, 1987

Representative Cases

• Grayson vs. District of Columbia Dept. of Employment Services, 516 A.2d 909 (D.C. App. 1986)
• Otis Elevator Company vs. Robinson , (U.S. Court of Appeal for the D.C. Circuit, No. 86-7010)
• Otis Elevator Company vs. Elsbery , (U.S. Court of Appeal for the D.C. Circuit, No. 87-7210)
• Henderson vs. Charles E. Smith Management Co., 567 A.2d, 462 (D.C. App. 1988)
• Baker & Botts, et al, vs. D.C. Department of Employment Services , (D. C. Court of Appeal, Appeal No: 95-AA-460)
• Hummer vs. Levin, 673 A.2d 631 (D.C.App. 1996)
• D'Souza vs. Burns, and Burns vs. WMATA, 114 F.3rd 219 (D.C. Cir. 1997)
• Panizza vs. Funkhouser , (Supreme Court of Virginia, Record No. 97-0371)
• Sines vs. The Price Company, et. al , (Supreme Court of Virginia, Record No. 98-1596)
• Schafer vs. D.C. Department of Employment Services , (D.C. Court of Appeal, Appeal No: 99-AA-376)
• Beek, et. al. vs. Speakman, 57 VA. Cir. 501 (Fairfax County Circuit Court 2000)
• Suntrust Bank vs. Children's Nat. Medical Ctr., et.al., VLW 003-8-114-115 (2003)
• Panizza v. Funkhouser, et.al, Virginia Lawyers Weekly 094-8-336 (1994)

West Practice Categories

Administrative Law, Contracts, Construction Law, Criminal Law, DUI/DWI, Traffic Violations, Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills, Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Social Security -- Disability, Health & Health Care Law, Nursing Home, Litigation & Appeals, Personal Injury -- Defense, Personal Injury -- Plaintiff, Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff, Probate & Estate Administration, Products Liability Law, Professional Malpractice Law, Legal Malpractice, Medical Malpractice, Real Estate Law, Toxic Torts, Workers' Compensation Law