Litigation

• Representation of a nation-wide real estate title services company, including an appeal on an issue of first impression in Pennsylvania, successfully overcoming discovery objections based on the attorney-client privilege between a dissolved company and its former in-house counsel.

• Representation of multi-state staffing business in successfully enforcing restrictive covenants in employment agreements.

• Representation of oil and gas company in disputes with land owners over enforceability of oil and gas Leases.

• Lead trial counsel of a machinery manufacturer in nation-wide products liability litigation.

• As local counsel of Le’Nature’s Liquidation Trust, assisted New York law firms in an action involving claims of fraud, RICO and legal malpractice arising from massive Ponzi scheme causing more than a half billion dollars in damages to the Le’Nature’s estate.

• Successful representation of data center in enforcing terms of hosting services agreement.

• Protected trade secrets of manufacturer and supplier of motion controller equipment and services in litigation involving claims of breach of contract, unfair competition, wrongful procurement of information and conversion.

• Successful representation of Fortune 500 pharmaceutical distributor in multi-state litigation involving breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims.

• Successful defense of tire machinery manufacturer in products liability wrongful death action.

Business and Technology-Oriented Services

• Formation and acquisition of Pennsylvania-based on-line retailers, software development companies and data centers.

• Acquisition of diversified staffing and recruiting businesses in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

• Negotiation and drafting employment agreements on behalf of employers and employees.

• Acquisition of Boston-based optometry practice on behalf of Pennsylvania optometry business.

• Negotiation and drafting of purchase and sale agreements, content license agreements and fulfillment agreements for on-line retailers and distributors.

• Panelist at the 20th Annual Employment Law Institute - West, sponsored by the PBI, November 17-18, 2016, presenting on Ethics of the Cloud: Technology Competence and Safeguarding Client Confidentiality, covering current issues in lawyers’ legal and ethical obligations to protect the security of data.

• Speaker at Fox Chapel Area School District, September 2015, presenting to educators and administrators on student data privacy under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

• Dialogue Leader, The Sedona Conference®, Working Group 11 (Data Security and Privacy Liability), presenting on data privacy on June 24-25, 2015.

• Panelist at the 4th Annual eDiscovery Symposium, sponsored by the PBI and ACBA Legal Technology and eDiscovery Committee, April 17, 2015, presenting on Data Breaches – Privacy and Liability, covering current issues in safeguarding personal identifiable information, claims and defenses in private data breach cases, data security class actions, and lawyers’ legal and ethical obligations to protect the security of data.

• Moderator and Panelist at the 3rd Annual eDiscovery Symposium, sponsored by the PBI and ACBA Legal Technology and eDiscovery Committee, April 25, 2014, presenting on Discovery and Use of Social Media at Trial.

• Panelist at the 2nd Annual eDiscovery Symposium, sponsored by the PBI and ACBA Legal Technology and eDiscovery Committee, April 26, 2013, presenting on Discovery and Use of Social Media at Trial.

• Panelist at the eDiscovery Symposium, sponsored by the PBI and ACBA Legal Technology and eDiscovery Committee, April 27, 2012, presenting on eDiscovery in Complex Cases and Injunctive Relief Cases in Common Pleas Court.

• Speaker at the PBI Solo & Small Firm Conference, July 17, 2012, presenting on the preservation, identification, collection and production of electronically stored information (ESI), the use of ESI at trial, effective protocols and preservation orders, and effective search tools and strategies.

Law for the 21st Century is about transition and change. In litigation, this means the adoption and effective use of technology and case management solutions paired with a common-sense approach to problem solving that conserves client resources. With decades of trial and litigation experience, Leonard has built a reputation as formidable yet practical advocates. Thorough preparation, strategic analysis and a relentless desire to succeed are the hallmarks of the firm’s commercial litigation practice.

Complementing its litigation practice, Leonard has over twenty years of experience providing general counsel to e-commerce and technology-oriented businesses, startups, and closely held business in industries and professions that may be described not only as traditional but remarkably innovative and disruptive.

As a trial lawyer I represent individuals and privately-held and publicly traded companies in a broad range of commercial and business litigation matters. The disputes primarily involve contracts, trade secrets, fraud, unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty, restrictive covenants and shareholder and partnership matters in federal and state courts.

As a complement to my litigation practice, I provide general counsel to closely-held businesses with an emphasis on forming and supporting technology-related clients such as Internet retailers, data centers and software developers.

The firm is pleased to announce that partner Roy Leonard has been selected to join The Sedona Conference Working Group 11 (WG11) data privacy drafting team. The WG11 mission is to bring together lawyers, judges, policy makers, security experts, technologists, and business leaders to identify and develop principles and best practices that will resolve data security and privacy liability issues.