News
June 23, 2008
Harvard Law School Establishes The Honorable George N. Leighton Endowed Fund
Neal & Leroy, LLC, a minority-owned law firm nationally-recognized for its experience and knowledge in the area of eminent domain and condemnation, is pleased to recognize Judge George N. Leighton, Of Counsel and Former U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, in Harvard Law School's establishment of the The Honorable George N. Leighton Endowed Fund.
The Honorable George N. Leighton Endowed Fund was created to recognize Judge Leighton's outstanding service and contributions to the legal community and to provide financial assistance to all individuals pursuing an education at Harvard Law School.
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.