PRACTICE AREAS

Business Litigation

Leon Silver is a commercial trial lawyer with 20 years' experience who has represented Fortune 1000 companies in all manners of commercial and real estate disputes as well as account and accounting-related litigation.

Mr. Silver's clients include O'Reilly Automotive, Inc., CSK Auto, Inc., SGS U.S. Testing Co., Inc., Equipment Leasing Services, L.L.C., Hollingsworth Financial Services, Inc., Kokopelli Winery, Inc., New Mexico Wineries, Inc., ParTrusT "Beheer" BV, Carolina's Mexican Food, Inc. and Vantage Press.

Mr. Silver also co-founded and heads the firm's Business Divorce Team, which advises businesses and business people through the perils of foundational change.

DISTINCTIONS

Selected for inclusion in Southwest Super Lawyers 2009 for Business Litigation

Recognized in Who's Who in American Law.

Mr. Silver carries an AV Rating from Martindale Hubbell Attorney Rating Service.

COMMUNITY AND BAR INVOLVEMENT

Arizona State Bar

Member of the Business Law and Law Practice Management Sections

Maricopa County Superior Court

Serves as Judge Pro Tempore

Planned Parenthood Arizona

A member of the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona for ten years, he served as chair from 2001-2003. Mr. Silver was honored by the organization as its Outstanding Public Affairs Volunteer in 1991, 1992 and 1997. He has spoken publicly on an array of issues regarding the constitutional right to privacy, sexual and reproductive freedom, contraception and the right to choose both as a volunteer advocate and on behalf of Planned Parenthood. He currently serves the organization as a Trustee.

In 2008, Planned Parenthood awarded Mr. Silver its highest honor, the Peggy Goldwater Award. Named for Planned Parenthood Arizona founder and wife of the late Senator Barry Goldwater, the award is given to those volunteers and community leaders who have demonstrated a long standing commitment to Planned Parenthood's mission.

Mr. Silver is a recipient of the Let Freedom Ring, Legal Community Leadership Award, in recognition of his years of volunteer legal service.

In 2005, Mr. Silver founded The Liberty Project, a think tank made up of law students, young lawyers and other professionals, who advocate in support of sexual and reproductive rights. In 2007, he was presented with the first "Fabulous Attorney Advisor Award" from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University for his work with the Liberty Project.

Mr. Silver also serves on the Community Advisory Committee for Advocacy for the Arts, a non-profit legal advisory organization for artists and authors (http://artsadvocacy.org).

In 2007, Mr. Silver became the second man ever to join the board of the YWCA, Maricopa County, in its 95-year history and chairs its Board Development Committee, which is charged with recruiting, nominating and orienting new board members.

NOTABLE EXPERIENCE

Mr. Silver's expertise in personal service contracts, public image and privacy rights has brought him many well known clients, including four time Olympic gold medalist Olga Korbut, Woodstock co-founder Artie Kornfeld, Allison DuBois (NBC's "Medium") and PGA Tour golfer Sean Murphy. He received national media attention for his defense of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, for successfully preventing the release of an unedited videotape of an unfortunate traffic stop involving internationally known recording artist Diana Ross and for filing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of private citizens challenging campaign finance practices of national congressional candidates. Mr. Silver recently obtained summary judgment in defense of a class action claim against a seat belt testing company that was accused of consumer fraud effecting a purported class of hundreds of thousands of automobile purchasers throughout Arizona. Similar cases had been filed in several states and, after five years of litigation, Mr. Silver was the first to obtain summary judgment on behalf of the client.

Reported Cases

Fernandez v. Takata, et al, 210 Ariz. 138, 108 P.2d 917 (2005)

DePasquale v. Superior Court, 181 Ariz. 333, 890 P.2d 628 (App. 1995)

Reily v. Reno, 860 F.Supp. 693 (D.Ariz. 1994)

Cannon School District No. 50 v. W.E.S. Construction Co. Inc., 174 Ariz. 269, 848 P.2d 848 (App. 1992)

EDUCATION

J.D., Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, 1989, Graduate research assistant on Karjala, An Analysis of Close Corporation Legislation in the United States, 21 Ariz SLJ, 663 (1989).

B.A., Fine Arts, St. Lawrence University, 1984