Meet Our Team
Shannon Gahs, Esq.
Managing Attorney
Shannon focuses her practice in advising individuals, couples and business owners in protecting their families and accomplishments through appropriate estate and disability planning. She advises businesses from pre-startup, through adaptation, to adding investors, mergers, or successful sale or succession planning.
Prior to opening her own practice, Shannon practiced law in Manhattan, earning her stripes in New York courts in corporate law and litigation. She facilitated private equity venture capital transactions, negotiating deal terms, performing due diligence and closing transactions of up to $70 million at a time. She took on litigation cases of contract interpretation, patent and trademark infringement, international patent prosecution, insurance coverage, corporate defamation, professional negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, housing discrimination and ADA compliance. She authored and taught a continuing legal education course on identifying intellectual property issues for non-ip lawyers.
Returning to Maryland in 2013, she spent the next several years working on behalf of children and adults with complex disabilities, elders aging-in-place, and the nurses, aides and therapists who care for them. Sitting at family kitchen tables on Saturday mornings, she listened to families handling disability and supported them in advocating for themselves and their loved ones. Shannon and her team passed landmark legislation every year during her tenure. Shannon managed advocacy across ten states between Maryland and Maine.
Education
University of Maryland, College Park, 2006. University of Baltimore School of Law, 2009. Admitted to the Bar of the State of New Jersey (2009), State of New York (2010), State of Maryland (2021).
Volunteer
St. Margaret Roman Catholic Parish. Board of Trustees, Harford County Public Libraries. President, Magness Mill Homeowners’ Association Board of Directors. Board of Trustees, Dance Conservatory of Maryland.
Awards
Maryland National Capitol-Area Home Care Association Public Policy Award. U.S. Navy Special Service Award. U.S. Navy Special Act Award. Past-President, University of Baltimore Students for Public Interest. University of Maryland Varsity, Mighty Sound of Maryland. Wakonse Fellow for Student Leadership. Alumna Guest Lecturer, Maryvale Preparatory School.
Heather Clarke, Esq.
Attorney
Heather Clarke, Esq. joined The Law Office of Shannon Gahs in June 2024, following clerkships with Judge Groton and Judge Bloxom in the Circuit Court of Worcester County, Maryland and nine and a half years of service to the State’s Attorney’s Offices of Worcester and Wicomico Counties. Rising to Senior Assistant State’s Attorney at the end of her term, Heather’s track record is impressive.
Heather is a dedicated advocate for her clients in the courtroom. She understands the value of listening closely, gathering relevant information and crafting arguments to uphold the laws that make our communities safe and pleasant. Before judges and juries, she has explained complicated points of law and emotionally-charged scenarios with professionalism and ease, making the difficult legal issues easy to understand.
In counseling clients, she brings an uncanny sense of calm and confidence to her meetings. Clients know they can rely on her skill and knowledge, or her ability to find the answer to new fact patterns. She deeply cares about the important matters our clients bring to us and understands how much the work we do means to the families and communities we serve.
Heather is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she participated in Moot Court in order to gain experience crafting legal arguments to present to the Court. She was admitted to the Bar of the State of Maryland in 2012. She is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association and Wicomico County Bar Association.
Education
University of Virginia, 2008. University of Baltimore School of Law, 2012. Admitted to the Bar of the State of New Jersey (2009), State of New York (2010), State of Maryland (2021).
Contact
Phone
(443) 686-9781
info@shannongahs.com
Office
Harford County
141 N. Main Street
Bel Air, MD 21014
Howard County
Worcester County
Coming in 2024