Recognitions & Awards - Zwerling, Leibig & Moseley, P.C. Attorneys & Counselors at Law, Alexandria, Virginia

Partner Biographies

[John Kenneth Zwerling ]

[Christopher Leibig]

[Andrea Moseley]

[Associates]

John Kenneth Zwerling

John K. Zwerling John Zwerling, known as an aggressive criminal defense litigator, has a wide range of experience in complex grand jury, trial and appellate advocacy, including considerable knowlege in the area of Fourth Amendment search and seizure law and Fifth Amendment issues.

John is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and served as President of the Alexandria Bar Association (July 2001 - June 2002). He was the founding President of the Virginia College of Criminal Defense Attorneys and is a member of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (Founding Member), and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law (Legal Committee).

John has served as an Instructor in Forensic Expert Training (FBI Academy), as well as a member of the faculty for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Georgetown University. John has also served as a liason on the Task Force on Pretrial Release to compile the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice - Third Edition.

Education:

Washington College of Law, J.D., 1970
Tufts University, B.S., 1965

Bar Admissions:
1970, U.S. Supreme Court;
1970, Supreme Court of Virginia;
1971, District of Columbia;
1981, New York;
Also admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Eleventh and District of Columbia Circuits, and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Lectures and Speaking Appearances:

John Zwerling is a frequent lecturer at national and state CLE seminars and has appeared as a legal commentator and consultant on numerous television and radio shows, including NBC and CBS Evening News, Today Show, and Burden of Proof
John Zwerling has given lectures at a number of continuing legal education seminars. Some of his topics include:
- Finding the Bullets and Shooting the Rat (Cross-Examination of Cooperating Citizens), October 1996, Richmond, Virginia (Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys)
- Dealing with the Expert Guilt Witness, We can Dream or we can Prepare for War, September 1997, Roanoke, Virginia (Virginia Trial Lawyers Association)
- Rising Above the Truth to Reach Justice, April 23-25, 1998, New Orleans, Lousiana (Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers)
- Can Narcotics Cases be Won in 2000, September 1999 (Virginia Trial Lawyers Association)
- Voir Dire in a Medical Marijuana Cultivation Case, May 27, 1999, Aspen, Colorado (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)
Christopher Leibig

Chris Leibig attended Falls Church High School in Falls Church, Virginia and graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C, where he studied International Relations. Chris graduated from William and Mary Law School in 1996. During law school he worked for Public Defender's Offices in Washington, D.C. and Bellingham, Washington.

Chris has been a criminal defense attorney since 1996, beginning at the Alexandria Public Defender's Office, and then at his own law firm of Leibig, Moseley, and Dillard, P.C. (later Leibig, Moseley, and Bennett, PC). He joined with John Zwerling's law practice in 2005. Chris also serves as General Counsel for FIT-ONE, LLC, a personal training company in Northern Virginia, and Berryville Physical Therapy and Wellness, a physical therapy company in Berryville, Virginia.
- William and Mary Law School, J.D., 1996
- Georgetown University, B.A., 1992
- George Washington University, Forensic Science Program--
  Chris studied Forensic Science at the George Washington University Master's of Forensic Science Program during 2002 and 2003, with coursework in, among other things, Forensic Psychiatry, and Forensic DNA Typing.
  
  Services:
- In the 2002-2003 school year, Chris was an Instructor of Legal Rhetoric at the American University Washington College of Law, and at the George Washington University School of Law, Chris has been a guest lecturer in criminal law and procedure.
Trial Experience:
Chris has tried more than a hundred felony cases, including more than forty jury trials. He has won acquittals on charges of Murder, Manslaughter, Rape, Robbery, Malicious Wounding, Child Sexual Abuse and other serious felonies as well as all types of misdemeanors. He has represented clients for capital murder in Alexandria and Stafford County, Virginia.
- FORENSIC SCIENCE
  Chris successfully challenged admission of the government's DNA evidence in a sexual assault jury trial, and has litigated the interpretation of DNA evidence in several others.
- DEFENSE OF JUVENILES AND DEFENSE OF JUVENILES TRIED AS ADULTS
  Chris has defended hundreds of juveniles facing charges in Virginia Courts. He has regularly represented juveniles charged as adults, including on charges of murder and other serious felonies. He has won acquittals for juveniles in many jury trials, including charges of Robbery, Malicious Wounding, Assault, Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, and Burglary. He successfully argued in the Virginia Court of Appeals case of Commonwealth v. Danzell Pannell that juveniles facing violations of probation should be accorded the same rights as juveniles charged with any other offense. Ultimately, that case triggered a change in the law and was reversed by the Virginia Supreme Court, but it provided a window during which juveniles accused of violating probation were accorded the constitutional and evidentiary protections provided in all criminal cases.
- DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED
  
  Chris has represented hundreds of clients charged with driving while intoxicated, including in jury trials, Circuit Court bench trials, and in the Court of Appeals of Virginia, where he argued the case of Commonwealth v. Joseph Reed Brown, (breath test result inadmissible where Commonwealth could not establish that machine had been calibrated for accuracy).
Andrea Moseley

Andrea Moseley graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and received her law degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia. She was an executive editor for the Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse at Washington and Lee. In the course of her work in the Capital Case Clearinghouse, Andrea and the staff provided support to numerous attorneys involved in death penalty cases that were approaching trial.

Andrea has been a criminal defense attorney since 1998. She spent her first four years of practice in the Alexandria Public Defender's Office, which is widely regarded as the best in the Commonwealth. Immediately after her employment with the Alexandria Public Defender’s Office she went into private practice with her own law firm of Leibig, Moseley, and Dillard, P.C. (later Leibig, Moseley, and Bennett, P.C.). She joined John Zwerling’s law practice in 2005. Andrea was also an Instructor of Legal Rhetoric at the American University Washington College of Law for the 2002-2003 school years.

In 2005, Andrea won a landmark decision in the Virginia Supreme Court, which prevented the Attorney General from civilly committing her client upon the completion of his original sentence, under the Sexually Violent Predator Act. Commonwealth of Virginia v. Richard Bryan Allen, 269 Va. 262, 609 S.E.2d 4 (2005). In 2007, Andrea was featured as one of Virginia's Rising Stars in Super Lawyers Magazine.
- Washington and Lee University School of Law, J.D., 1998
- Rhodes College, B.A., 1994
  
  Bar Admissions:
- December 10, 1998, Virginia;
- January 8, 2007, District of Columbia;
- January 4, 1999, Supreme Court of Virginia;
- March 31, 2000, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia;
- July 18, 2006, United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia;
- April 2, 2007, United States District Court for the District of Columbia;
- August 17, 2006, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  
  Bar Associations:
- Virginia College of Criminal Defense Attorneys
- National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys
- Alexandria Bar Association
- Virginia Bar Association
  
  Recognition & Awards:
- Featured in Washingtonian magazine in the December 2007 edition--Recognized for extensive trial experience among “Washington’s best—the top 1 percent—in 28 legal specialities.”
- Featured in Virginia Rising Stars 2007--Selected as among the top 2.5 percent of Virginia up-and-coming attorneys in an extensive peer review and evaluation process conducted by Law & Politics. Published in the January 2007 issues of Virginia Super Lawyers–Rising Stars Edition and Richmond magazine.
- Washington DC Area’s Best Lawyers, Washington Post Magazine, October 1, 2007--Lawyers are selected through a rigorous peer-review based on 2 million confidential evaluations by only the top attorneys in the country and thousands of telephone interviews. Best Lawyers has gained the respect of the legal industry, the media, and clients as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.
Trial Experience:
Andrea Moseley has represented hundreds of clients at trials in criminal cases. She has won acquittals on charges of Murder, Grand Larceny, D.W.I., Indecent Exposure, Assault on a police officer, Drug Distribution and Possession, Immigration Fraud, and various other criminal charges. In 2003, she was one of the first attorneys in Virginia to defeat the Attorney General's Office at both the trial and appellate level on a petition to civilly commit a person under the new Sexually Violent Predator Act. She has extensive experience defending specialized legal matters such as: internet crimes involving undercover officers posing as minors, RICO conspiracy allegations, money laundering, and State and Federal sex offender registration issues. In addition, she co-authored a recent victorious brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. United States of America v. Christopher Ferguson IN THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE 4th CIRCUIT Record No. 05-4460). See also in 'Cases of Note' media coverage of Commonwealth v. Andrew Alston.
Services:
Andrea Moseley is a member of the Fourth District Section II, District Disciplinary Committee for the Virginia State Bar. She has served in this capacity since 2006. This committee, as part of the Professional Regulation Department of the Virginia State Bar, is dedicated to upholding the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct. The enforcement of these rules includes lawyer discipline, legal ethics, lawyer advertising and solicitation, and the unauthorized practice of law.

Stuart Alexander Sears

Stuart Sears graduated from Mary Washington College in 1998 with a B.A. in International Affairs.
After graduation, Stuart worked in financial services for four years at a large corporation in Boston, Massachusetts. Stuart earned his law degree with honors in 2005 from the American University Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C, where he also served on the International Law Review. Stuart joined Zwerling, Leibig & Moseley, P.C. in 2005 after having previously clerked for Zwerling & Kemler, P.C., while in law school.
- American University Washington College of Law, J.D., cum laude 2005
- Mary Washington College, B.A., 1998
  
  Bar Admissions:
- 2005, Virginia;
- 2005, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia;
- 2005, United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia;
- 2006, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit;
- 2007, District of Columbia;
  
  Bar Associations:
- Virginia Bar Association
- Alexandria Bar Association
- Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys
- Virginia Bar Association
- National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys
  
  Services:
- 2007 – present: Member of the Board of Directors for the Foundation of the Alexandria Bar Association
Trial Experience:
During his tenure with the firm, Stuart has represented individuals in both state and federal courts on felony charges of malicious wounding, Rape, Sodomy, Accessory to Murder, Conspiracy, Money Laundering, Robbery, Fraud, and high-level Drug Distribution. Stuart has additionally represented numerous individuals on misdemeanor charges of DUI, Reckless Driving, Possession of Marijuana and Assault and Battery. He has won favorable resolutions in many cases and has won acquittals in front of both judge and jury.
Appellate Practice:
In addition to his trial level work, Stuart has represented individuals on post-conviction proceedings including appeals, petitions for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court and habeas corpus relief. As part of his practice, Stuart has authored four petitions for certiorari to the Supreme Court, one of which was granted and resulted in a significant sentence reduction for his client. In addition, Stuart has authored numerous briefs to the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit as well as presented oral argument.