RICHARD J. LEIGHTON
Mr. Leighton practices in the area of civil litigation, involving all aspects of pre-trial discovery, motions, mediations, settlement negotiations, trials, post-trial motions, and appeals in state and federal courts. Over the years, he has practiced in the areas of product liability, toxic torts, environmental law, employment law, eminent domain, construction law, medical malpractice, personal injury, insurance coverage law, tax litigation, railroad law, and admiralty. He has authored articles for the Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association in the area of toxic torts and corporate liability, and has spoken on employment and discrimination law topics at various seminars. Over the last twenty years, his practice has emphasized managing the defense of over 2000 asbestos personal injury/wrongful death cases for several companies in state and federal courts in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.
He is admitted to practice in the state courts of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. He is admitted to practice before the federal courts in Minnesota and North Dakota, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the United States Tax Court, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the American, Iowa State, Minnesota State, North Dakota State, and Wisconsin State Bar Associations, the Defense Research Institute, and the Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association.
Mr. Leighton received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago, and graduated with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1979, where he served as a Note & Comment Editor for the Iowa Law Review.