McLeod, Weschler & Yeager, P.C.

Attorney Gwendolen C. Lesh McLeod

Gwendolen C. Lesh McLeod is a graduate of the Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was admitted to practice law in Maryland in 1989, in Washington D.C. in 1990, and in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland in 1992. Upon graduating from law school, Gwen practiced for a short period of time on the Eastern Shore in Maryland. In 1990, she became associated with the law firm of McLeod, Weschler & Yeager, P.C., Chartered. In 1995, she became a partner of that firm. In July, 2002, she and Linda Haspel founded the law firm of McLeod, Weschler & Yeager, P.C.

Gwen practices primarily in family law, including divorce, custody, support, property and domestic violence issues. She is also an advocate for children. She is frequently appointed to represent children in cases involving contested custody issues.

She has also been trained and is an experienced family law mediator and practices collaborative law.

Gwen’s excellence in representing her clients is well known.  She has been named as a Top Family Law Attorney in the Washington, D.C. area by Washingtonian Magazine. She was also named as one of the top five percent of family lawyers in the State of Maryland by Super Lawyers Magazine.  She has also selected for the Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers. She is also rated as Highest AV® Preeminent(TM) Peer and Judiciary Review RatingSM from Martindale-Hubbell®.

Gwen is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the Frederick County Bar Association, the Montgomery County Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar Association, and the Montgomery County Women’s Bar Association.  Gwen has been invited to speak at local groups and organizations, including the Montgomery County Women’s Commission, about issues involving divorce and family law and domestic violence.  She has also presented several seminars about family law related issues to various mental health professionals.  She was also a member of the Commission on Child Custody Decision-Making Court Processes Committee and served as Chair to the Frederick County Family Law Bar from 2017 through 2020.

Gwen was born in London, England. She is fluent in Norwegian. She grew up locally in Bethesda, Maryland, lives in Frederick County, Maryland and graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 1985.

Bar Admissions:

• Maryland, 1989
• Washington, D.C., 1990
• U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, 1992

Education:

• Duquesne University School of Law
• St. Mary's College of Maryland

Attorney Thomas M. Weschler, Jr.

Thomas M. Weschler, Jr. became an Associate at McLeod, Weschler & Yeager, P.C. in May 2009 and a Partner in January 2016. Tom was inspired to pursue a career in family law because of the personal experiences of close family members who underwent significant challenges in the family court system. Because of this, Tom strives to listen to all clients, to answer their questions, to help make them feel comfortable and to empower them throughout their cases.  He does his very best to provide the compassion and attention each client needs, as he understands family law cases are highly charged emotionally and life-altering.

Tom handles domestic violence cases, complex separation and divorce cases, highly contested child custody and access disputes, alimony and child support cases, contempt and enforcement actions as well as drafts pre-nuptial and separation and property settlement agreements.

A parent himself, Tom has also obtained his certifications in order to represent children in custody dispute cases, and on numerous occasions, has been appointed by the Court to do so in many occasions in several jurisdictions.

Understanding that when parties are able to resolve their differences on their own, they are better able to craft an arrangement that better fits their needs and goals.  Tom has been trained as a mediator and regularly attends mediation sessions with his clients.  At these mediation sessions, he provides them with counsel, informing them of their rights and options, all in an effort to provide them with the necessary information in order to allow them to make the best decisions about their cases. Tom is also appointed by the Court to serve as a mediator for cases that involve issues related to custody, division of property and support.

From 2014-2022, Tom has been recognized as a Maryland Super Lawyer in Family Law.  Tom is also a 2010 graduate of the Maryland State Bar Association’s Leadership Development Program.  He has received the distinguished David Hjortsberg Award (2014), has served on the Maryland State Bar Association’s Board of Governors, and is a Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation.  He currently sits on the executive committee of The Maryland Bar Foundation.

A well-rounded professional, Tom stays apprised of the latest changes to the law and how those changes can impact his clients.  With his knowledge and experience, he has also been invited to present to other attorneys and mental health professionals about family law matters and the judicial process and has served as a mentor through the bar associations. With deep roots in Maryland, Tom gives back to the community through pro bono work and volunteer activities. He represents clients through the local county pro bono offices, has accepted cases through Maryland Volunteer Legal Services (MVLS) and has assisted at local pro se help desks.

Attorney Karen S. Yeager

Karen S. Yeager is a graduate of Albany Law School Union University in Albany, New York. She was admitted to practice law in Maryland in 2001. She joined the firm in 2006 as an Associate and became a Partner in January, 2015. Prior to joining the firm, she practiced in a small boutique firm in Bethesda, Maryland and practiced in the areas of family law, personal injury and civil litigation. Since joining the firm she has focused her practice primarily on family law including contested divorces, contested custody actions, actions involving alimony, child support, and property issues, contempt and enforcement actions, and modification actions. She also attends mediation with clients and drafts prenuptial agreements as well as separation and property settlement agreements. She has also handled guardianship and third-party custody cases as well. She has also received the requisite training to be appointed to represent children in contested custody cases.

Karen always knew she wanted to be a lawyer and was especially drawn to family law because she understands the importance of helping someone through what is oftentimes the most difficult and emotional time in their lives. Karen enjoys working closely with the clients and helping to guide them through the process. She especially enjoys seeing clients become enlightened and empowered through the process and emerging with a new perspective. Karen comes from a large and close-knit extended family herself and her husband also has a large extended Filipino family. Being part of such a large family she understands just how important family is and how difficult it can be when a family goes through a divorce or contested custody case. It also helps her to relate to and understand clients who come from all different experiences, backgrounds and walks of life. Karen’s family also jokingly refers to her as “the fixer” because she hasn’t met a problem she hasn’t wanted to try to fix. Karen routinely puts this trait into action in dealing with her clients and helps them to reach the best possible resolutions for their family and themselves under the circumstances. She not only provides them with the knowledge and the legal insight they need to make an informative decision, but she also strives to make them feel empowered to be able to do so. She also routinely attends mediation with clients and helps them to reach resolutions through that process as well.

Karen is also highly organized and pays very close attention to detail which is very important when dealing with document intensive cases and high conflict cases. She also enjoys helping the clients through the discovery stage of a case which can be overwhelming to some. That process involves the exchange of documentation and information both formal and informal and can be complicated and time-consuming for clients. However, Karen excels in keeping everyone and everything organized.

Prior to attending law school Karen graduated from Hartwick College located in Oneonta, New York. Karen lived in upstate New York for 7 years while attending college and then law school. She moved back to the Maryland/D.C./Virginia area after graduating law school because she wanted to be close to family and to focus her law practice in this area. She is also a 1993 graduate of The Mercersburg Academy, a small private boarding school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Mercersburg, Pennsylvania is also where she grew up and where many members of her family still live. Karen has a strong sense of community and has volunteered in community outreach programs in her hometown of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania as well as locally in Montgomery County through the Montgomery County Pro Bono Committee. In fact, in 2018 the firm was awarded the Small Firm Service Award for a case in which Karen was involved. She was also active in volunteer legal clinic programs in Law School.

She is also a member of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA), the Bar Association of Montgomery County (BAMC), and the Family Law Section of the Bar Association of Montgomery County.

Bar Admissions:

• Maryland, 2001

Education:

• Hartwick College, History and Political Science, B.A., 1997
• Albany Law School of Union University, J.D., 2000
  • Office of the New York State Comptroller, intern
  • U.S. Magistrate Judge Ralph W. Smith, intern