Susan F. Leonard

Susan F. Leonard is Of Counsel in the Irvine office of GRSM. She has focused on insurance defense for nineteen years. Her experience includes commercial and residential premises liability, construction defect claims, and the defense of motor vehicle personal injury matters. Susan’s ability to quickly analyze a case and identify its strengths and weaknesses has resulted in optimal outcomes for many of her clients seeking to make early settlement strategies or trial strategies.

Susan enjoys a collaborative working relationship with her peers and colleagues. She is extremely responsive to the needs of her clients and takes great pride in her work. She is a demonstrated self-starter who enjoys the fast pace of litigation.

Admissions

• California

Memberships

• State Bar of California

Community Involvement

• United Ostomy Association of America (UOAA)

• A source of pride for Susan is her strong legal research and writing skills, which has resulted in a number of successful dispositive motions. Once recent example is obtaining a summary judgment in a $5 million premises liability case in which the plaintiff truck driver claimed permanent injuries after stepping into a pothole in the driveway at a factory. Susan successfully argued that plaintiff’s claims were barred under the Privette doctrine (person who hires an independent contractor is not liable for injuries to employees of that independent contractor). The judgment was affirmed on appeal.

Education

J.D., Santa Barbara College of Law, 1999

• High Honors

B.A., Business Economics, Westmont College, 1986