By
Langdon D. Neal
Principal and owner of Neal & Leroy LLC
It is with great honor that I write this letter about a distinguished practitioner and a revered leader, Judge George N. Leighton. George is a success story that speaks to the character of a young man driven to defy odds to become a living legend of Chicago and who has had a significant influence in shaping our laws and society.
To rise from the chores of a child laborer in New Bedford, Mass., George decided early on that his life would be more than his circumstances. The strength of character that it must have taken with a seventh-grade education to decide his future could have meaning and could have an impact on society bears witness to the man today who still exemplifies truth and honor.
George went from working on cranberry bogs, strawberry patches and blueberry bushes in Massachusetts at age 12 to writing a scholarship-winning essay that led to his admittance to Howard University in Washington, D.C. Without a formal grade school education or a single day in high school, George graduated from Howard magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1940.
Not satisfied with that achievement, George continued his education at Harvard Law School, also on full scholarship, and received his law degree in 1946. After graduating from law school, George moved to Chicago and became active in the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and served as president and general counsel of the Chicago Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, handling several landmark cases. In 1951, George formed Moore, Ming & Leighton, which became one of the largest predominantly black law firms in the country.
As a human rights, civil rights and constitutional rights advocate, George used the law to make society better. During his career as a lawyer, George represented plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases of every kind and represented defendants of both high and low stature in many criminal cases.
For example, attracting national attention as counsel for 10 African-American citizens from Mobile, Ala., in the 1946 Boswell Amendment Case, George succeeded in obtaining a judgment declaring the amendment unconstitutional. This amendment was designed as a device for eliminating African-Americans' right to vote. In 1949, in Davis v. Schnell, the court overturned the Boswell law, affirming that it violated the right of African-Americans to vote, which was secured in the 15th Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Also, in 1951, George filed suit for a temporary restraining order on behalf of an African-American family who had been blocked by angry neighbors from moving into an apartment they had rented in an all-white Cicero neighborhood. George was indicted by a Cook County grand jury for conspiracy to incite a riot and lower property values. Thurgood Marshall, the future U.S. Supreme Court justice, represented George, and the indictment was dismissed.
It is clear George had a vision for his life and he pursued it without ever contemplating the obstacles or societal barriers in his path. How else do you explain the coincidences, the opportunities and the advancements that took this young man from a child laborer to a Harvard Law School graduate then on to become a highly respected circuit court judge in 1964, an appellate court justice in 1969 and a federal district court judge in 1975, appointed by President Gerald Ford? His is a life well lived and his work ethic is inspiring. After retiring from 23 combined years on the bench in 1987, George became of counsel to Neal & Leroy LLC. George retired from the firm in October 2011 at the age of 99 years old.
Reflecting upon the past 24-year association with George, it is difficult to express the enormity of his impact upon our firm. The rich history and storied career of George has positively impacted and shaped Neal & Leroy in so very many ways. He has been a mentor to me as well as to many of the young lawyers in the firm and a daily reminder of the basic guiding principles in the practice of law — those of integrity, honesty and devotion to the highest quality of work product.
All of these qualities are personified by the life and work of George. The memories and experience of working side-by-side with George for 24 years will be cherished for a lifetime. From the moment George walked into our office, the standards of professionalism and responsibility that accompany being a lawyer were immediately felt by everyone in the firm. His legacy enhances the reputation of all those who practice law with him.
George's reputation as a fair champion of human rights and social injustices has also earned him a respected place in a vast legion of civic, educational and legal organizations including the 2011 "Cardinal Bernardin Award" by the Chicago Legal Clinic Inc., the 2011 "Unity Award" by the Just The Beginning Foundation and a post office named in his honor in 2005 in his hometown New Bedford. In 2010, The John Marshall Law School honored George with the inaugural "George N. Leighton Equal Justice Award" for his commitment to securing equal justice under the law. In addition to the award, John Marshall created the George N. Leighton Fellowship for the Study of Prisoners' Rights.
Also, throughout the past several years, George has been honored with numerous other achievements including the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission's first "Honorable George N. Leighton Justice Award" and the Illinois State Bar Association's first "Diversity Leadership Award," among others.
Never one to see restrictions on his life's possibilities, George caps his legal career with more than a half century of service. Service to his country, his generation, his legal peers, his family, his friends and his community, George is a life in celebration of achievement.