Jeffrey P. Leonard

Jeff is a partner with the firm and works out of the firm’s Birmingham and Atlanta offices. He is licensed to practice law in Alabama and Georgia. He primarily represents clients in commercial, catastrophic injury and complex civil litigation throughout the country.  Jeff has participated in numerous jury trials, obtained jury verdicts and mid-trial settlements, and recovered tens of millions of dollars for his individual clients and corporate clients. Jeff graduated cum laude from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2001, where he served as Executive Editor of The Wake Forest Law Review and was selected to the Order of the Coif honor society. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1997 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering.

After law school, Jeff lived in Atlanta and practiced at King & Spalding and Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough, where he primarily represented large companies in civil litigation. Jeff returned to his hometown of Birmingham in 2009 and joined Heninger Garrison Davis.

Jeff brings significant litigation and trial skills to the firm. His practice focuses on representing individuals and businesses in civil litigation, including contract and commercial disputes, wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, premises liability and trucking/vehicle collision cases.  Jeff has extensive experience in class action litigation around the country.  He represents clients in corporate disputes, trade secret and intellectual property and securities cases, as well as FINRA securities cases.  He is also experienced in pharmaceutical, medical device and environmental litigation.  Jeff also handles Federal Tort Claim Act (FTCA) cases against the federal government and its agencies.  Jeff is also experienced with corporate bankruptcy, especially when used to avoid litigation and trial.

Jeff has litigated cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States, including: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Jeff has achieved significant results, including:

• Appointed class counsel in a certified class action, Whitley v. Baptist Health, pending in federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas.
• Co-lead counsel in various class actions pending around the country.
• $5 million medical malpractice jury verdict in Bennett v. University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, PC, Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama.
• Multi-million-dollar class action settlement arising from an industrial fire in Georgia.
• Lead counsel in mass tort case involving hundreds of Birmingham residents relating to Phase II of the I-20/I-59 bridge and interstate construction project.
• Multi-million-dollar settlements in various commercial and contract litigation cases.
• Co-counsel in multi-district litigation class action against Verizon Wireless relating to cellular data overcharges in Slater v. Cellco Partnership (D.N.J.).
• Multi-million-dollar settlement involving an underground mine railway collision..
• Secured reversal by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals of summary judgment in favor of the United States in a traumatic brain injury case involving premises liability and the Georgia Recreational Property Act.  Shaw v. United States, 725 F. App’x 817, 818 (11th Cir. 2018)
• Served on the Unsecured Creditors Committee in the bankruptcy of Mission Coal, one of the largest private coal producers in the U.S.

Jeff has been recognized for his legal work, including:

• Superlawyers – Business Litigation
• AV-Preeminent Rating by Martindale Hubbell
• Birmingham Magazine – “Top Attorneys” for Civil Litigation
• B-metro Magazine – “Topflight Lawyers”
• BHM BIZ – Top Lawyers
• Top Attorneys, Alabama Rising Stars
• Highest Avvo.com lawyer rating of 10

Jeff’s community involvement includes service on the Board of the University of Alabama Student Affairs Leadership Council.  He also serves on the Advisory Board of Directors for the Shepherd Center Hospital, based in Atlanta, Georgia, which specializes in the treatment, research and rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord and brain injuries and multiple sclerosis.  Jeff is also a dedicated supporter of the University of Alabama, Vanderbilt University and Children’s Harbor of Alabama, which provides free counseling and support services to children with chronic illnesses and their families.