Judge J. Rich Leonard

From 1976 until 1978, Judge Leonard worked as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Franklin T. Dupree, Jr.  He then worked briefly in private practice from 1978 until 1979 before becoming Clerk of Court for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  Judge Leonard became a United States Magistrate Judge in 1981.  He continued to serve as both Clerk of Court and Magistrate Judge until 1992 when he was appointed United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  Judge Leonard served as Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge from 1999 to 2005 and is serving his second 14-year appointment as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge.  He is currently the Editor in Chief of The American Bankruptcy Law Journal.

Education

A.B., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1971;
M. Ed., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1973;
J.D., Yale University, 1976.