Michael I. Leonard
Partner |
Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson LLP
Chicago Office 123 North Wacker Drive Suite 1800 Chicago, Illinois 60606
Tel: 312 474 7925 |
Mike has one of the most eclectic trial and litigation practices in the firm. He has litigated and tried to verdict civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts across the country, in actions ranging from employment discrimination, fraud, breach of contract, and ERISA to criminal conspiracy, health care fraud, theft of cargo, embezzlement, and identity theft. Mike has also arbitrated dozens of cases, including those involving employee terminations and contract interpretation, as well as employment and securities’ related issues before the NASD and NYSE. With his varied practice, Mike is a member of the firm’s labor and employment, internal investigation/white collar criminal practice, and commercial litigation groups.
Mike has developed a national false claims ("qui tam") whistleblower practice, including in the pharmaceutical and health care arena. Those cases have been featured in the national press, including in The Wall Street Journal. Mike is an Adjunct Professor of Trial Practice at Northwestern University School of Law where he coaches the school’s labor and employment mock trial team. He is also an Instructor in the Chicago Bar Association’s annual Federal Trial Bar Training Program for the Northern District of Illinois. Mike is a Member of the Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois and a Federal Defender Panel Member in that District. Accordingly, he is regularly appointed to represent criminal defendants under the Criminal Justice Act.
Mike also co-chairs the firm’s Associate Development program, spearheads its pro-bono efforts, and was a lecturer/instructor for the Cambodian Defenders Project in Phnom Pehn Cambodia. Mike received his law degree from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law in 1991 where he was a member of the Law Review and the National Mock Trial team.