Ms. McManus was born in Framingham, Massachusetts; however she moved to California with her family in 1974.

Education: University of California at Santa Barbara (B.A., 1986); Lincoln University, School of Law (J.D., 1991). While at Lincoln University, Ms. McManus served as the Articles Editor, 1989-1990 and Editor-in-Chief, 1990-1991 of the Lincoln University Law Review.

Ms. McManus has been an active member in good standing of the State Bar of California and the Santa Clara County Bar Association since 1994. Through the Santa Clara County Bar Association, Ms. McManus serves as a member of the Family Law Executive Committee (1994 to present). She also served on the Judiciary Committee for 7 years. In addition she has continued to serve as a member of the Diversity Committee for over 3 years and the Law Related Education Committee for over 4 years.

Ms. McManus has also served as a Judge Pro Tem for the Santa Clara County Superior Court since 1994.

In addition to focusing on her career as an attorney, Ms. McManus spends a considerable amount of time volunteering and helping her community. She has been a member of the Cupertino Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) since 1985. She was named Volunteer of the Year by a local non-profit called Global Youth Resource Organization (GYRO) for the years 1993-1996. Ms. McManus was also awarded with a Senator of the Year award in 2004 for her work with the California JCI Senate Organization (auxiliary group of the CA Jaycees) and served as the 43rd President of the California JCI Senate President  (2007-2008).

In addition, Ms. McManus also served as Legal Counsel for the California Jaycees for the years 1999, 2000 and 2003. She is also a Past State President for the California Jaycees (2002). Ms. McManus has received the highest honor a member can receive from Junior Chamber International (Senatorship) and the United States Junior Chamber (Ambassadorship). In addition, Ms. McManus has served as the first female President of the Tiger Corp (an auxiliary group to the CA Jaycees).

Since 1996, Ms. McManus has acted as a scoring Judge for the High School Mock Trial competitions run by the Santa Clara County Bar Association and plans to do so for many years to come.

Ms. McManus was recognized by the Consumer Business Review as the Family Law Attorney/Mediator of the Year for 2002 and Family Law Attorney of the Year for 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2008.