Roy E. Leonard, founder of Leonard, PLLC, has been elected to the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County. The Academy was created in the late 1950's by a number of distinguished lawyers who actively tried civil matters in state and federal courts in Allegheny County. The Academy was designated to include both plaintiff's and defendant's attorneys in generally balanced proportions who demonstrated and promoted not only exceptional trial advocacy, but also mutual respect, an independent judiciary, and integrity in judicial administration. Since its inception, membership in the Academy of Trial Lawyers has been invitation only, subject to peer review, and is presently limited to 250 active members.

The firm is pleased to announce that Roy Leonard will be a presenter in a skills training program on using the TrialPad app at arbitrations, hearings and trial. Attendees will learn how to download exhibits from a computer or the cloud to an iPad and display those exhibits on to a projection screen or monitor in the courtroom or other presentation setting. The program will also teach attendees how to label, call out and annotate exhibits and connect an iPad to a courtroom audio/visual system by a wired or wireless connection.

The program is sponsored by the Allegheny County Bar Association Legal Technology and eDiscovery Committee and will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, at the Koppers Building, E. Graham Room, 436 Seventh Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

The firm is pleased to announce that Roy Leonard will be a presenter for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania CLE Board’s Bridge the Gap program. Bridge the Gap is a program designed to assist recent law school graduates as they make the transition from student to practitioner. The program focuses on several areas including Communications, Fiduciary Requirements, Ethical Practice Management, the Disciplinary System, Outreach Programs and more. Newly admitted lawyers are required to complete this training by their first CLE compliance deadline.

The Allegheny County Bar Association, an accredited provider, is presenting the program which will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5, 2019, at the Koppers Building Conference Center, E.P. Mellon Room, 436 Seventh Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

The Leonard firm is pleased to announce that on December 11, 2018, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania entered a final order approving a class action settlement on behalf of plaintiffs - former minority shareholders of American Broadband, Inc. d/b/a United Network Services, Inc. (“UNSi”) who owned shares of UNSI, whose shares were cancelled through a 1-for-4,000,000 reverse stock split, and who subsequently did not purchase new shares pursuant to UNSI’s Confidential Offering Memorandum. Plaintiffs alleged breach of fiduciary duty and related claims against former directors, officers, insiders and/or interested and controlling shareholders of UNSi.

The settlement achieved a remarkable return of nearly 50% of the maximum possible losses incurred by the Class. Attorneys Roy E. Leonard, Scott M. Hare and Robert B. Stein represented plaintiffs. The case is titled Adam C. Kassab, et al. v. Francis D John, et al., Civil Action No. 2:16-cv-00613.

In a jury trial before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, involving contract and quasi-contract liability issues relating to excavation work on a midstream oil & gas project in eastern Ohio, Roy Leonard successfully obtained a unanimous verdict in favor of TEK Construction Services, LLC against Defendant Pioneer Pipe, Inc.
On January 31, 2018, the jury awarded all damages incurred by TEK Construction Services for additional work that it performed on the project as directed by Pioneer Pipe and made necessary by project delays. On August 27, 2018, the Court denied Defendant’s Motion for Judgment as a Matter of law and/or Motion for New Trial. The case is titled TEK Construction Services, LLC v. Pioneer Pipe, Inc., Civil Action No. 2:16-cv-664.