Judith E. Leonard

Trustee. Professor of Practice at University of Arizona Law

Judith Leonard served as general counsel of the Smithsonian Institution from 2009 to 2023, following a decade as vice president of legal affairs and general counsel of the University of Arizona. At the Smithsonian, Ms. Leonard served as the principal legal advisor to the Board of Regents, the secretary, and other officials, and directed the management of all legal matters relevant to the operations of the Smithsonian. These responsibilities included coordination with the Department of Justice on litigation matters; representation in administrative proceedings, engagement, and management of outside counsel; and management of the team of lawyers and support staff who provide the legal advice and representation to the entire Smithsonian. Ms. Leonard also provided legal advice to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and its trustees. Prior to joining the Smithsonian, Ms. Leonard served as the vice president for legal affairs and general counsel at the University of Arizona from 1998 until 2009. In that role, she served as principal legal advisor, directed and coordinated all legal matters, advised on policy and compliance, served as a member of the university president’s cabinet, and supervised the legal department. Ms. Leonard also was an adjunct associate professor in the College of Education’s Higher Education Leadership graduate degree program. Ms. Leonard previously spent 10 years in Washington, DC, as an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Education and as general counsel of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the Executive Office of the President. She served as assistant attorney general in Arizona (1990-1991) and as associate university counsel at the University of North Carolina (1983-1990), where she also lectured in the schools of business, medicine, nursing, public health, dentistry, and pharmacy. In 2014, Ms. Leonard was elected to the American Law Institute, the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly works to clarify, modernize, and improve the law. She served on the American Bar Association’s Legal Education Accreditation Committee from 2015 through 2018 and remains active in the National Association of College and University Attorneys and the Association of Corporate Counsel. She is an active member of the Women’s Advisory Board of the Girl Scouts of the Nation’s Capital and of the Washington, DC, chapter of the International Women’s Forum. Ms. Leonard earned her Juris Doctor and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.