People
Val Leppert is a first-chair appellate lawyer and legal strategist. He has handled dozens of appeals and obtained the reversal of numerous adverse judgments. Val has represented clients across an array of industries, including airline, automotive, insurance, lending, medical device, pharmaceutical, private equity, transportation, and software. But he has developed particular expertise in consumer products, having worked extensively in tobacco litigation while also representing companies in matters pertaining to alcohol and construction materials. Just recently, Legal 500 noted that Val is “recommended” for the defense of consumer products, including for “his work at First Instance” and also for “his appellate skills.”
In some matters, Val steps into the case on appeal. But in most instances, Val works alongside the trial teams from the inception of the case, devising the legal strategy from the pleadings stage through post-trial motions and appeal. Using this format, he frequently develops new and creative arguments and has attained a number of victories in pretrial proceedings, such as the dismissal of his clients before trial or limitations on the other side’s claims. If a case makes it to trial, Val often serves as legal issues counsel, helping the team shape the case by obtaining favorable evidentiary rulings or jury instructions. This integrated approach, where Val is embedded with the trial team, is frequently the foundation for success in post-trial and appellate proceedings.
Although he is resident in the firm’s Atlanta and Miami offices, Val works on cases throughout the United States. He has argued matters from North Carolina to Nevada and from Minnesota all the way down to the Southernmost Point in the Florida Keys.
Val served as law clerk to the Honorable Frank M. Hull, United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He graduated, magna cum laude, from Mercer University School of Law where he received the George W. Woodruff Award of Excellence as the top-ranked student in his class. While in law school, Val served as Articles Editor of the Mercer Law Review and as Research Assistant to Professor Harold S. Lewis, Jr. While in college, he was named the 2004 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference South Most Valuable Player on Offense after quarterbacking Westminster College (Mo) to consecutive football conference championships. He was inducted into the Westminster Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
Val is a native of Frankfurt, Germany, and is fluent in German.
J.D., Mercer University, magna cum laude
B.A., Westminster College
Court of Appeals of Georgia
Florida
Georgia
Supreme Court of Georgia
Supreme Court of the United States
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Law Clerk, Frank M. Hull, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Florida
Georgia
German
March 17, 2023
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Obtains Complete Defense Verdict After Multi-Week Wrongful Death Trial in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Obtained complete appellate victory in complex business dispute involving mortgage-backed securities; secured affirmance of summary judgment on several breach of contract, fraud, and RICO claims; secured reversal of denial of summary judgment on unique fraud theory. Overlook Gardens Properties v. ORIX, USA, --- S.E.2d ---, 2023 WL 2130742 (Ga. App. Feb 21, 2023)
Obtained affirmance of dismissal of pure bill of discovery for lack of personal jurisdiction. MSP Recovery Claims, Series LLC v. Coloplast Corp., 353 So. 3d 705 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023).
Obtained affirmance of summary judgment based on the exclusion of the plaintiff's specific causation expert in medical device lawsuit. Arevalo v. Mentor Worldwide LLC, 21-11768, --- F. App'x---, 2022 WL 16753646, at *1 (11th Cir. Nov. 8, 2022)
See more
March 17, 2023
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Obtains Complete Defense Verdict After Multi-Week Wrongful Death Trial in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Obtained complete appellate victory in complex business dispute involving mortgage-backed securities; secured affirmance of summary judgment on several breach of contract, fraud, and RICO claims; secured reversal of denial of summary judgment on unique fraud theory. Overlook Gardens Properties v. ORIX, USA, --- S.E.2d ---, 2023 WL 2130742 (Ga. App. Feb 21, 2023)
Obtained affirmance of dismissal of pure bill of discovery for lack of personal jurisdiction. MSP Recovery Claims, Series LLC v. Coloplast Corp., 353 So. 3d 705 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023).
Obtained affirmance of summary judgment based on the exclusion of the plaintiff's specific causation expert in medical device lawsuit. Arevalo v. Mentor Worldwide LLC, 21-11768, --- F. App'x---, 2022 WL 16753646, at *1 (11th Cir. Nov. 8, 2022)
See more
March 17, 2023
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Obtains Complete Defense Verdict After Multi-Week Wrongful Death Trial in Miami-Dade County, Florida
J.D., Mercer University, magna cum laude
B.A., Westminster College
Court of Appeals of Georgia
Florida
Georgia
Supreme Court of Georgia
Supreme Court of the United States
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Law Clerk, Frank M. Hull, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Florida
Georgia
German