He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and grew up in Melbourne, Florida. He attended Melbourne Central Catholic High School, where he helped lead the football team to an undefeated record.  He then attended the University of Central Florida after being offered a spot on the NCAA Division I football team, where he earned a degree in Political Science and was a captain of the nationally-ranked mock trial team.  He was then accepted into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, where he was awarded the prestigious Gressman-Pollitt Award for oral advocacy and was a member of the national moot court team. 

In his professional career, he has worked as an investigator of police misconduct for the Department of Justice, as a prosecutor in Raleigh North Carolina, and has practiced criminal defense in Durham North Carolina.  After moving to West Virginia, he declined an invitation to join one of the state's largest corporate law firms in order to represent individuals - mostly in personal injury litigation.  Since founding his own law firm, he has continued fighting big corporations, big law firms, insurance companies, as well as the government, on behalf of individuals and families in their time of need.   

He lives in Union, West Virginia, with his wife, Julie, son, John Jr., and daughter Jillian.

Licensure:

Member of State Bar of West Virginia and

United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

Education:

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, J.D.

University of Central Florida, B.A., Political Science

Law School/College Honors:

Eugene Gressman-Daniel Pollit Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy

National Moot Court Competition Team

Accepted into and Practiced in Full-Year Criminal Clinic

Yale Mock Trial Tournament Champion

American Mock Trial Association National Finalist

Kilpatrick-Stockton Mock Trial Tournament Best Attorney

Experience:

Barry L. Bruce & Associates, L.C., Lewisburg, WV

Practiced primarily personal injury litigation

Wake County District Attorney's Office, Raleigh, NC

Prosecuted criminal cases in North Carolina state courts

United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division,

Special Litigation Section, Washington, D.C.

Investigated pattern or practice police misconduct, as

well as civil rights violations occurring in state jails and 

prisons located throughout the United States

UNC-Chapel Hill Criminal Clinic

Practiced criminal defense of juveniles in the state courts

of Durham, North Carolina 

Continuing Legal Education Seminars Taught:

Handling the Police Liability Claim

West Virginia law governing ciivil actions against police departments and police officers

Common liability issues in police liability cases

National Business Institute

Cases Litigated Against Most Large Law Firms in West Virginia, including:

Steptoe & Johnson, Bailey & Wyant, Pullin Fowler & Flanagan, Huddleston Bolen, Bowles Rice McDavid Graff & Love, Allen Guthrie & Thomas, Jackson Kelly, Francis Nelson & Brison, Key Casto & Cheney, Offut Nord 

Cases Litigated in Numerous West Virginia Counties, including:

Greenbrier County, Monroe County, Mercer County, Summers County, 

Fayette County, McDowell County, Kanawha County, Wayne County, 

Putnam County, Pocahontas County, Raleigh County, Berkeley County, 

Ohio County, and Preston County West Virginia

Memberships:

American Association for Justice, Member

(formerly American Trial Lawyers Association)

 - Member of Motor Vehicle Liability Section

 - Member of Criminal Law Section

National Rifle Association, Member

Kentucky Rifle Association, Member

Contemporary Longrifle Association, Member

National Wild Turkey Federation, Member

Union Chamber of Commerce, Member

Bluegrass Ruritan Organization, Member

Monroe Early Childhood Association, Board of Directors

MARTHA J. FLESHMAN

    Attorney at Law

Martha J. Fleshman is a civil and criminal attorney licensed to practice in the state and federal courts of West Virginia.  

Martha was born in Clifton Forge, Virginia, and grew up near Alderson, West Virginia.  Martha attended Greenbrier East High School where she graduated with high honors and was recognized as the top graduating senior in the Business Department of the high school.  Martha worked for the West Virginia Division of Vocational Rehabilitation while obtaining college credits at night and then graduated cum laude from Concord College where she was a member of Cardinal Key Honor Sorority and other academic organizations.  Martha worked in the private sector for many years as a Trust Officer with Greenbrier Valley National Bank and as an instructor in computer science at Greenbrier Community College Center.

Martha’s many years of legal experience in managing and administering trusts led her to seek her law degree which she obtained from the West Virginia University College of Law.  There she was a member of the Lugar Trial Association, Treasurer of the Student Bar Association, President of the Christian Legal Society and involved in pro bono work through the law school.  Martha received an “I Won’t Back Down” award for her efforts in oral advocacy and an Excellence in Education award for her skills in Interviewing, Counseling, and Negotiating.

As an attorney, Martha maintained a private solo practice for many years, which consisted largely of family law, estate law, and other civil litigation with emphasis on advocating against domestic violence and child abuse.  Martha is trained as a mediator for the family court system.

While in private practice, Martha also worked part-time, first for Legal Aid of West Virginia and, most recently, as the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Monroe County.

Martha lives in Lewisburg, West Virginia, with her daughter Taylor.

Legal Assistants:

Rainy Bogdan

Sandy Thornton