Leonard concentrates his practice in defending significant commercial motor vehicle, personal injury, employment, civil rights and professional liability matters. He has tried numerous cases to verdict in the state and federal courts and is recognized by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney. Leonard has held this designation since 2004.
Highly experienced in trucking law, Leonard handles all aspects of trucking litigation matters, from Carmack claims to the most complicated and significant bodily injury claims. In addition to his New Jersey based practice, Leonard has also handled trucking cases in state and federal courts in other jurisdictions, pro hac vice, and also provides specialized non-litigation legal services to his trucking and transportation clientele in labor and contractual matters.
Leonard represents multiple trucking and transportation clients directly, and often at the request of their insurance carriers. He has represented trucking clientele before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. In addition to trucking, Leonard handles traumatic injury matters in litigation involving elevators, escalators and walkways representing contractors and building maintenance.
Leonard also handles employment and civil rights matters arising under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) and the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), New Jersey’s whistleblower statute. His experience includes defending both public and private employers against claims involving discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and alleged whistleblower activity in state and federal courts, as well as before administrative agencies.
In addition, Leonard has handled precedent-setting appellate matters before New Jersey Appellate Division and also represented the defendant in Johnson v. Braddy Trucking before the New Jersey Supreme Court. He has also successfully argued appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Leonard regularly represents clients in administrative, disciplinary and labor hearings. He also often serves as a mediator and arbitrator at the request of his colleagues.
Named among The Best Lawyers in America® for Transportation Law, Leonard has also been recognized five times among the Top 100 New Jersey Super Lawyers. In addition, Best Lawyers® named him the 2027 Newark “Lawyer of the Year” for Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants.
Results
Directed Verdict Obtained in a New Jersey Law Against Discrimination Case
We obtained a directed verdict in a New Jersey Law Against Discrimination case filed against a national trucking company after two days of trial. The plaintiff was a laborer who assisted a truck driver making deliveries to a retail store. The driver admitted to making sexually explicit comments to the plaintiff. The plaintiff argued the comments were made due to his race (African American) and were protected under the LAD. Jillian and Len argued that the comments were offensive to anyone who heard them and had nothing to do with the plaintiff’s race. At trial, the judge agreed that the language used by the truck driver, however offensive it was, could not sustain a cause of action under the LAD as it was not based on a protected category as alleged by the plaintiff. The judge dismissed the case.
Defense Obtains a Published New Jersey Appellate Division Decision Affirming that Perception of Having COVID-19 Does Not Constitute Perceived Disability Under NJLAD
The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal our defense team obtained in a New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) perceived disability claim, alleging COVID-19 to be a disability under this statute. This employment discrimination claim involved a matter of first impression in New Jersey and established that COVID-19 infection, without more, does not constitute a disability under the NJLAD. A former employee filed suit, asserting perceived disability discrimination under the NJLAD. The plaintiff alleged he was wrongfully terminated based upon his employer’s perception that he had COVID-19. We filed a motion to dismiss in lieu of an answer, asserting the complaint did not set forth a cause of action as COVID-19 is not a recognized disability under the NJLAD. The court granted our motion and agreed that COVID-19 is not a disability under the NJLAD and, therefore, could not be the predicate for a perceived discrimination case. The Appellate Division affirmed this decision, finding the plaintiff’s COVID-19-perceived disability claim failed to plead a viable cause of action under the NJLAD.
Thought Leadership
News
106 Marshall Dennehey Attorneys Recognized in the 2027 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America® and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America
August 20, 2026
98 Marshall Dennehey Attorneys Recognized in the 2027 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America® and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America
August 20, 2025
