Leonard Leo
Leonard Anthony Leo (born November 1965) is an American lawyer and conservative legal activist. He was the longtime vice president of the Federalist Society and is currently, along with Steven Calabresi, the co-chairman of the organization's board of directors. Leo has been instrumental in building a network of influential conservative legal groups funded mostly by anonymous donors, including The 85 Fund and Concord Fund, which serve as funding hubs for affiliated political nonprofits.[1] He assisted Clarence Thomas in his Supreme Court confirmation hearings and led campaigns to support the nominations of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Not to be confused with Leonardo Leo.
Leonard Leo
1965 (age 58–59)
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- Chairman of CRC Advisors
- Former Vice President of the Federalist Society
Sally
7
Early life and education[edit]
Leonard Anthony Leo[2] was born on Long Island, New York, in November 1965, and raised in suburban New Jersey. His grandfather, an Italian immigrant, was a vice president of Brooks Brothers.[3][4][5] He grew up in a family of practicing Catholics.[3]
His father died when Leo was in preschool. When Leo was five years old, his mother married an engineer, and the family moved to Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey, where he spent most of his childhood.[3][6] He graduated in 1983 from Monroe Township High School.[7]
Leo attended Cornell University,[4] graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1986, working as an intern in the office of Senator Orrin Hatch.[3] He then attended Cornell Law School, graduating with a J.D. in 1989. He then clerked for Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[3][4][8]
Personal life[edit]
Leo is Roman Catholic.[4] He has seven children with his wife, Sally.[4] Their daughter Margaret died in 2007 at the age of 14 from spina bifida.[3] Leo has spoken about the profound impact her life had on him.[3][59][60] Leo is a knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a Catholic lay religious order.[61][62]
Leo has a summer home in Northeast Harbor, Maine, where he has been the target of periodic protests due to his legal advocacy opposing abortion.[63] In the weeks following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, protests were held there on an almost daily basis.[64]