Leon focuses on resolving challenging and high-stakes civil and commercial disputes.

Leon is a forceful litigator who guides clients through all stages of some of their most complicated and sensitive cases, through trial and appeal, in federal and state courts around the country. At the end of 2023, Leon helped secure a complete jury verdict for a preeminent biomedical research institute facing employment discrimination claims that challenged the core of its mission to fund leading scientists. For his securities litigation work, he has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in 2024–25.

Many of Leon’s matters are complex proceedings, ranging from class actions for plaintiffs and defendants alike, to contentious bankruptcies, to multidistrict litigation, like one of the nation’s largest regarding the marketing, sale, and distribution of prescription drugs. In deftly navigating these and other disputes, Leon is attuned to the business objectives and concerns of clients across an array of industries, including financial institutions of various kinds, portfolio companies of private equity firms, healthcare and life sciences organizations, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and real estate ventures. In addition to his commercial and civil dockets, Leon also defends against government enforcement actions and investigations brought by the DOJ, the SEC, and the FTC, and assists clients with their internal investigations of business practices at home and abroad.

Leon has a demonstrated commitment to pro bono representation of marginalized communities and individuals. For example, he has litigated on behalf of minority property owners in New York City for the uncompensated seizure of their homes and obtained asylum for a government reform advocate who was the target of political persecution in Central America.

Prior to joining Clark Smith Villazor, Leon spent nearly a decade litigating in the New York City and San Francisco offices of a leading global law firm. While at Berkeley Law, he served as articles editor of the California Law Review and interned for the Honorable John T. Noonan, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Before embarking on his legal career, Leon honed his communication skills as a public affairs analyst at Google and as a high school math teacher in Philadelphia.