LEONARD WOOD focuses his practice on shareholder activism campaigns, proxy fights, shareholder activism preparedness, strategic investor relations, and contested M&A. He has advised hundreds of public companies in shareholder activism defense and preparation for shareholder activism, and hostile takeover threats. Additionally, as an active member of Sidley’s corporate governance and global sustainability practices, Leonard has advised several of the world’s largest corporations on governance and sustainability matters. Prior to joining Sidley in 2018, Leonard was a lawyer at another global law firm, where he worked with other current Sidley partners in the development of a prominently ranked shareholder activism and corporate defense practice.
Sidley’s Shareholder Activism and Corporate Defense practice has risen since 2018 to the top of all shareholder activism defense league tables, including No. 1 rankings by Bloomberg, FactSet, and LSEG (formerly Refinitiv/Thomson Reuters). Chambers USA has ranked Sidley in Band 1 in New York for Corporate/M&A: Takeover Defense (2022–2024), noting in 2024 that “Sidley Austin is the best in the business at activism defense work.” Sidley has been ranked in Tier 1 for “Shareholder Activism – Advice to Boards” by Legal 500. The firm was also recognized by The Deal as “Activist Defense Law Firm of the Year” two years in a row. Sidley was ranked No. 1 in the Bloomberg Global Activism League Tables for company-side engagements among legal advisers in 2024, and was awarded Diligent Market Intelligence’s “Activism Advisor Award for Total Issuer Representations,” recognizing the law firm that advised companies on the most activist campaigns in 2024.
Leonard publishes widely on shareholder activism, corporate governance and sustainability matters, with articles appearing in the Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Forum, The M&A Journal, Lexology’s “Getting the Deal Through” series, Law360, Insights, The National Law Journal, The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation,and Westlaw.
Leonard holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, a Ph.D. from Harvard University, an M.Phil. from Oxford University, and a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a former editor-in-chief of the Harvard Business Law Review and was named to The Best Lawyers in America’s “Ones to Watch” list for his work in Corporate Governance and Compliance law (2022).