Haugh & Lemm, PLLC

­­­Attorney John Haugh

A native Virginian, John received a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, from Virginia Commonwealth University in Justice Administration and Public Safety before earning his juris doctorate in 1986 from The Marshall Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary. He then began his legal career with a small general practice firm in Roanoke where he enjoyed a diverse practice of criminal and traffic defense, family law, personal injury and medical malpractice, collections and bankruptcy that took him to both state and federal courts across the Commonwealth.

In 1988 John joined the Hampton Commonwealth Attorney's Office where he handled a wide spectrum of cases ranging from serious criminal traffic matters such as DUl's to serious violent cases to include murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, and drug charges. In addition to handling a large volume of serious cases John also served on the faculty at the Hampton Roads Regional Police Academy teaching Constitutional Law related to Search and Seizure as well as the 5th and 6th Amendment. John also taught classes in substantive criminal law covering a wide range of violent crimes, property crimes, and serious criminal traffic offenses. In 1991 John was hired by the District Attorney's Office in York County, Pennsylvania, where for four years he headed up a team of attorneys, investigators, health professionals and child advocates devoted exclusively to the investigation and prosecution of child sexual and physical abuse cases to include child homicides. In addition to handling those cases John continued teaching as a faculty member with the Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association in workshops on trial advocacy skills and the investigation and prosecution of child homicide cases.

John also served on the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Coalition on Child Abuse as well as the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Medical/Legal Advisory Board on Child Abuse In 1995 John returned to the Hampton Commonwealth Attorney's Office as a Deputy Commonwealth Attorney supervising and prosecuting the cases in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. In 1997 John was appointed as the Chief Deputy, supervising an office of fifteen attorneys and nearly an equal number of support staff while continuing to handle some of the more serious and complex cases in the office, including three capital murder cases. He served in that position for fifteen years and continued teaching as a faculty member of the National College of District Attorneys where he taught Trial Advocacy to prosecutors from around the country at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. In 2012 John was appointed Interim Commonwealth Attorney after the retirement of the Honorable Linda Curtis. John stayed with the office for nearly two more years, serving as both a Senior Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney and a Special Assistant United State's Attorney handling cases in both the State and Federal District Court. In 2013 John was hired as the Chief Deputy of the Louisa County, Virginia, Commonwealth Attorney's Office before joining the Attorney General's Office in 2015 where he was assigned to prosecute violent crimes, gang, and gun offenses in the city of Norfolk. He held that position until his retirement after nearly 30 years of public service.

Bar Admissions:

• Virginia, 1986
• Pennsylvania, 1991

Education:                                         

• The College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, Williamsburg, Virginia
  • D. - 1986
• Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
  • S. - 1982
  • Honors: magna cum laude
  • Major: Administration of Justice and Public Safety

Classes/Seminars:

• Hampton Roads Regional Police Academy 1989-1991; 2003, The 4th Amendment and the Laws of Search and Seizure, The 5th and 6th Amendment and the Laws of Interrogation and Right to Counsel Substantive Criminal Law
• National College of District Attorneys 2001, 2003, 2004, Trial Advocacy
• Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association, The Investigation of Child Homicide and Abuse, October 19-20, 1993 Trial Advocacy, April 11-13, 1994 Trial Advocacy, October 5-7, 1994
• Faculty Member, The 17th Annual Milton S. Hershey Child Abuse Conference, Harrisburg, PA May 5-7, 1993

Professional Memberships and Achievements: 

• Newport News Bar Association, Present
• The National Trial Lawyers: The Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyers in Virginia, 2021

­­­Attorney Shannon Lemm

Shannon was born and raised in Hampton Roads and attended Virginia Commonwealth University where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Theatre. After graduating college, Shannon moved to Los Angeles to purse her dream of acting. While Shannon enjoyed success as an actress, she found her true calling as a family lawyer when she found herself fighting for custody of her own daughter. Believing that her daughter was suffering at the hands of her abusive father, Shannon convinced the Court to grant her sole custody. Following her calling to become a family lawyer and with 2 daughters in tow, Shannon returned to Hampton Roads and obtained her Juris Doctorate from Regent University.

Since graduating law school in 2005, Shannon has focused her practice almost exclusively in family law and has had the great fortune to learn from some of the finest practitioners on the Southside. Perhaps of most significant influence was Charles R. Hofheimer, Esq. with whom Shannon spent nearly ten years as an associate, representing solely women in family law matters. From high asset and complex equitable distribution matters, to contested custody and visitation cases, it has now been well over a decade that Shannon has been representing clients in all areas of family law.

Bar Admissions:

• Virginia, 2005

Education:                                         

• Regent University School of Law, Virginia Beach, Virginia
  • D.
• Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
  • 1991
  • Major: Theatre