Speaker details

Biography

Leonard H. Gilbert is a partner at Holland & Knight, LLP. A graduate of Emory University and Harvard Law School, and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1961. During his 57 year career, Leonard has represented numerous state, national and international banks and other financial institutions, as well as public bodies and secured and unsecured creditors' committees. He has had significant involvement in high profile and complex cases receiving international attention. Leonard is the former president of The Florida Bar, the Hillsborough County Bar, and the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers and is considered to be one of the deans of the Florida Bankruptcy Bar. Leonard has also served as director and regent of the American College of Bankruptcy and treasurer and director of the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation. He received the American College of Bankruptcy’s Distinguished Service Award in 2011 and is also the recipient of the Professionalism Award of the Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association, and the Hillsborough County Bar Association litigation section award for a distinguished legal career. Leonard served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary and as a director of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the American Bar Foundation. He Co-Chaired the Insolvency Section of the International Bar Association. He was a founding member of the International Insolvency Institute, serving as Secretary since its inception and as a Director. In 2017 he received the Founders’ Award from the International Insolvency Institute. He currently serves as President of the Eleventh Circuit Historical Society and as a member of the American Law Institute. Leonard speaks on legal topics pertaining to finance, banking and insolvency issues and has lectured extensively at programs throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Asia. He has written for various law reviews, has lectured for The Florida Bar, the UNC School of Law’s Banking Institute, Sections of the American Bar Association, PLI, the International Bar Association, International Insolvency Institute, and participated in various projects at the World Bank and UNCITRAL. He serves as a mediator in insolvency and non-insolvency matters. He has been recognized by Chambers USA, Who’s Who, Who’s Who Legal, Best Lawyers in America and Florida Super Lawyers. Long interested in the arts, Leonard served as chair of The Tampa Museum of Art and as a director of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Over the years, he has served in a number of different capacities with local community organizations.