NC-based bankruptcy judge receives national honor

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in North Carolina has been awarded a national honor.

Judge J. Rich Leonard, who serves in the Eastern District of North Carolina, was recently named the recipient of the American Bar Association's 2011 Robert B. Yegge Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Judicial Administration.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn, of Dallas, Texas, nominated Leonard, describing him as "an esteemed jurist with a unique blend of charisma and supreme intellect,” whose "commitment to the modernization of court technology has made him a paragon in the field of judicial administration."

Leonard graduated from Yale Law School in 1976. He became a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in North Carolina in 1992 and also serves as the editor-in-chief of the American Bankruptcy Law Journal.

"Throughout his career, Judge Leonard has been at the forefront of many national initiatives that have impacted the entire federal judiciary, and I am very proud to work under his leadership," said Christine Castelloe, chief deputy clerk for the U.S Bankruptcy Court in North Carolina's Eastern District.

Leonard will be presented with the award this summer at the American Bar Association's annual meeting in Toronto.