News
June 1, 2006
The Chicago Chapter of the American Constitution Society Presents The Honorable Judge George N. Leighton as one of Chicago’s Legal Legends
Neal & Leroy, LLC, a minority-owned law firm nationally-recognized for its experience and knowledge in the area of eminent domain, municipal law, and real estate law, is pleased to recognize Judge George N. Leighton, Of Counsel and Former U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, as a Chicago Legal Legends honoree of The Chicago Chapter of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy. This Award was presented on Thursday, June 1, 2006, at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, IL.
The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy promotes the vitality of the U.S. Constitution and the fundamental values it expresses: individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, access to justice, democracy and the rule of law.
Judge George N. Leighton concentrates in the areas of federal litigation and appellate cases. He became counsel to Neal & Leroy, LLC in 1987 after retiring from 23 combined years of service as judge on the state and federal bench. Judge Leighton is a 1946 graduate of Harvard Law School and a 1940 magna cum laude graduate of Howard University. Judge Leighton's early career included serving as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois and as Master in Chancery of the Circuit Court of Cook County. In 1964, he was elected to a six-year term as Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County and five years later he was assigned by the Illinois Supreme Court to sit as Judge of the Appellate Court, First District.
In 1970, Judge Leighton was elected to a ten-year term as a Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court, First District. President Gerald Ford nominated Judge Leighton to serve as a Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1975, upon confirmation Judge Leighton began serving in 1976. Judge Leighton retired from the bench in 1987.