Mr. Leonard received a BA with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1978 and his JD from there in 1982. After law school he practiced with Pilsbury Winthrop in New York where he worked on various transactions in the public and private markets, including securities issuances, structured financial products and insolvencies.
He moved to Atlanta in 1988 where he initially worked with King & Spalding. There he focused on representing borrowers and lenders in transactions involving corporate and commercial finance, including mergers and acquisitions, public securities offerings, asset-based and syndicated bank financings, workouts, structured financings, reorganizations and bankruptciIn 1993 became a partner with Kilpatrick Stockton where he led the Leveraged Finance Team and continued to focus on the areas of practice referred to above. In addition, he developed sub-specialties in the areas of health care, telecommunications, media and transportation and government contracts. While there, he was the principal outside counsel to GE Capital’s Healthcare Financial Services unit and represented several other large banks and institutional investors as well as private hedge funds and borrowers in all aspects of corporate finance transactions and workouts, both domestic and international. In addition, he formed several investment funds and supervised the legal aspects of their fundraising efforts.
Mr. Leonard retired as a partner from Kilpatrick Stockton at the end of 2007 to pursue other interests outside the practice of law. In that period, he was involved in various matters, including purchasing and restructuring distressed assets for resale and working on several highly leveraged investments in corporate acquisitions, advisory engagements and restructurings and helping to organize a private distressed loan restructuring entity. He returned to practicing law at the start of 2011 with a small firm (Zakas & Leonard) working on the same types of matters he worked on with the large firm, but with a focus on high-net-worth individuals and entrepreneurial enterprises.
He recently joined Krevolin & Horst after working with the firm on several matters over the past decade because he felt that the firm’s greater resources and exceptional capabilities allowed him to better serve his client’s needs.
Mr. Leonard has served as a member of the Georgia State Bar UCC Committee, the Subcommittee on the Adoption of Revised UCC Article 9 (secured transactions) and the Subcommittee on Legal Opinions in Secured Transactions. He was a frequent speaker at various Georgia Continuing Legal Education Seminars. He was listed in “Best Lawyers in America” and “Georgia Super Lawyers.” He also served on several pro bono matters including acting as general outside counsel to the Hands On/City Cares volunteer services organization and Visiting Nurse/Hospice Atlanta. Mr. Leonard also has been active in the YMCA youth sports programs. He has two grown daughters and four grandchildren.
Education
- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, J.D., 1982
- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, B.A. in History 1978
Admissions
- North Carolina
- New York
- Georgia