For his efforts, John was honored as “2008 Lawyer of the Year” on December 31, 2008 by the organizers and sponsors of the “NYE” celebration on Miami Beach and was also the guest of honor and recipient of the award for Excellency in Legal Service at a reception hosted by Level Magazine and Z-Spot Business Marketing. John will also be named to the “35 people 35 and under” and a "Key Player" by a local publication for his legal and civic efforts in early 2009.

In 2003 John founded The Law Offices of John Leon, a full service civil litigation firm located in Miami Lakes, Florida and concentrating in the areas of real estate, corporate law, personal injury, and family law. John represents clients all throughout Florida, the Continental United States, Caribbean and South America. As a young lawyer, John has already been in practice for himself since 2003 and has handled or assisted with several matters against or on behalf of several Fortune 500 companies.

As a trial lawyer, John is admitted to practice in all Florida state and federal trial and appellate courts. John is admitted to a total of eight (8) courts.

Since graduating in 2001, John has worked as clerk or counsel to some of the largest, most prolific state and national law firms, including Washington DC based Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, who proudly named among its partners Senators Bob Dole and George Mitchell, represented some 30% of the Fortune 500 and was ranked #1 by Fortune Magazine for lobbying firms in the United States. Further, John has worked in the areas of medical malpractice defense, insurance defense, commercial litigation, employment law, regulatory, administrative law, governmental procurement, federal and legislative affairs, land use and zoning and general appellate work for some of the state’s old and most prestigious law firms. As a recent graduate of St. Thomas University, John was among the most active young trial lawyers in Miami-Dade County early in his career trying upwards of (15) jury trials during the first (8) eight months of his career alone.

John has also worked as an adjunct instructor/professor and lecturer at local colleges and universities, on various topics from US History, English, Math and political theory.

Most Recent Charitable and Philanthropic Work

John is founder and host of the annual and highly publicized “Rock the Fashion,” a rock and fashion themed red carpet gala for charity which benefited St. Thomas University’s School of Law in 2008 and which is scheduled to be held again in July, 2009 during Miami’s Fashion Week and will likely be held at the famed Versace Mansion and will include some of South Florida’s most well known designers, models and musical entertainers. In 2008, John donated more than 1,200 hours over a nine (9) month period of his time to this charitable event. John also participated and helped St. Thomas University organize the Sports Ethics and Illegal Gambling Seminar in November, where he also served as a panelist.

In 2008, John was also a VIP Judge and participant in the national “Style the Vote” competition which sought to bring minority communities together through fashion, music and design.

For his efforts, John will be honored as “2008 Lawyer of the Year” on December 31, 2008 by the organizers and sponsors of the “New Year’s Forever” celebration on Miami Beach. John will also be named to the “35 people 35 and under” by a local publication for his legal and civic efforts in early 2009.

In addition, in 2009 John will be hosting special events and fundraisers to benefit local Universities, colleges, as well as organizing, hosting and participating in a host of events.   Specifically, John will spearhead an effort to assemble a board of directors comprised of some of South Florida’s most dynamic and accomplished young professionals to form a charitable organization for the new Frost Art Museum at Florida International University, which was recently named a Smithsonian Museum affiliate.

Also, John will host the First Annual “Super Lawyers” Conference in the Fall and scheduled to be held at a local community college. The conference will include some of the most respected and accomplished attorneys in the United States discussing and sharing law practice tips, trial techniques, ethics training and anecdotal stories from their most famous and highly publicized cases. Lawyers who attend will be eligible for CLE credits.

John is currently working on and will be co-hosting the upcoming “Music 4 Life Festival” to benefit cancer research and treatment. The event will be held locally and all net proceeds will go directly to cancer research and treatment.

Finally, John is about to go to press with a new monthly Spanish Language newspaper called La Bohemia he is publishing in conjunction with one of South Florida’s oldest newspaper publishers. The newspaper will revolve around local, national and international current events and legal news and will be distributed throughout Greater Miami-Dade County.

Other Charitable/Civic Affiliations

• American Bar Association, Member 1998
• COPA; Caribbean Organization for Policy Advancement. A progressive think tank focusing on social, political and economic issues affecting the Caribbean basin. Chairman and Founder, 2000-2001
• Dade County Bar Association, Member 2002
• Florida Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, Member 2002-Present
• American Trial Lawyer’s Association, Member 2006
• Crescendo Circle for the Florida Grand Opera, Member 2008
• Upper Room for the Miami City Ballet, Member 2008
• Camillus Leaders, Camillus House of Miami, Member 2008

Awards

• (2) Proclamations, Miami-Dade County Commission/Mayor’s Office awarded for community initiatives and accomplishments
• Highlighted in several television/print media for civic accomplishments
• Awarded 1998 MS Leadership Medal for Civic and Business Leadership. Recognized as one of South Florida’s civic and business leaders. This recognition is one of the Society’s highest honors.
• “2008 Lawyer of the Year” for Legal and Philanthropic Contribution as presented by the hosts and sponsors of the year-end NYE Celebration.