David J. Leland

For other people named David Leland, see David Leland (disambiguation).

David J. Leland
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 28th district
In office January 3, 1983-December 31, 1984
Preceded by	District Relocated from Cuyahoga County
Succeeded by	E.J. Thomas
Personal details
Political party	Democratic

David J. Leland, (born September 18, 1953) is a partner at Carpenter Lipps & Leland LLP in Columbus, OH, and is the former Ohio Democratic Party Chair, a position he held from 1995 until 2002.^[1] More recently, Leland served as the Finance Chair and Senior Advisor to the successful 2006 gubernatorial campaign of Ted Strickland, for which Leland helped raise a record $17 million.

A candidate for Chair of the Democratic National Committee in 2005, Leland is one of Ohio's best-known lawyers, and has been active in state and national politics for over 35 years.

Early life and education

Leland spent his early life in Kansas before moving to Columbus his senior year of high school. He graduated from Columbus North High School and The Ohio State University, and then matriculated at nearby Capital University Law School, from which he earned his J.D. in 1978 as a member of the Capital Law Review.

Public service

Elected office and beyond

A state representative from Columbus and Clintonville from 1983-1985 in the 115th Ohio General Assembly, Leland was elected to his first of four terms as Chair of the Ohio Democratic Party in 1995 during Bill Clinton's tenure as president. A year later, Leland was appointed to the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee. Furthermore, Leland chaired Ohio's delegation to the 1996 and 2000 Democratic National Conventions.

In 2000, Clinton appointed Leland to the Federal Service Impasse Panel, which resolves disputes between the government and federal labor unions.

After Leland's terms at both the ODP and DNC concluded in 2002, he launched a bid for Democratic National Committee Chair in 2005, with the position going to former Vermont governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean instead. But Leland continued his contribution to statewide politics when he became the Finance Chair and Senior Advisor to Ted Strickland's gubernatorial campaign in 2006, helping to raise a record $17 million as Strickland won both his party's primary and the general election with comfortable margins. Strickland was the first Democrat to be elected governor in Ohio since 1983. Leland also served as the President and CEO of the Strickland/Fisher Inaugural Committee.

Leland is also active in the Columbus community, being the recipient of numerous awards and citations.

An avid baseball fan, Leland serves on the Board of Directors of the Columbus Clippers, the Cleveland Indians' AAA franchise. During his tenure the Clippers have constructed a state-of-the-art, $50 million baseball complex named Huntington Park.

Private Practice

Carpenter Lipps & Leland LLP

In January 2007, Leland joined the law firm of Carpenter & Lipps, which was renamed in March 2008 to Carpenter Lipps & Leland.

Managing partner Mike Carpenter said that the move signified the firm's commitment to being a litigation and policy firm.^[2]

Policy in Practice

In April 2008, the public policy practice Leland leads at his firm launched a political newsletter and website called "Policy in Practice" which features news articles and analyses on city, state and national politics. The website can be found at http://www.policyinpractice.com.

References

1. ^ Carpenter Lipps & Leland LLP Attorney Profile for David Leland [1]
2. ^ Business First Columbus Arrival of State Dems' Boss Paves New Growth Path for Litigation Firm: April 4, 2008. [2]

Persondata
Name	Leland, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 18, 1953
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death