Media Contacts: Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus Communications; barbara@eafocus.com; 248.260.8466; Daniel Dalton; ddalton@daltontomich.com; 248.229.2329
Detroit —October 1, 2020—Daniel Dalton and Zana Tomich, co-founders of Detroit-based land use, business, and denominational trust law firm Dalton + Tomich, are pleased to announce that Sorin A. Leahu has joined the firm as a senior associate attorney. Based in the firm’s Chicago office, Leahu was previously an associate attorney at Mauck & Baker, LLC.
Leahu’s practice is concentrated on commercial litigation and civil rights, especially religious liberty issues involving the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000. In addition to zoning and land use, he has litigated cases before federal courts in the areas of free speech, the establishment clause, the free exercise clause, and various election law matters.
On the business side, Leahu has worked on behalf of churches and non-profit organizations on annual filings, formation, obtaining property, sales tax exemptions, and legal compliance. He regularly advises small- and mid-sized corporations on a variety of transactional work such as incorporation, operating agreements, asset purchase and stock purchase agreements, lease and loan agreements, employment agreements and settlements.
Leahu has been admitted to practice in the State of Illinois (2014), the Northern District of Illinois (2015), and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (2015), and was Chairman of the Chicago Bar Association Civil Rights and Constitutional Law Committee from 2017-2018 and the Vice Chairman from 2016-2017. In addition, he is a Blackstone Legal Fellow, and member of the Christian Legal Society and Federalist Society.
Leahu received his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), John Marshall Law School in 2014, where he graduated in the top 2% of his class and was awarded the Order of John Marshall—a local Order of the Coif to recognize excellence in scholarship—upon graduation. While in law school, he was also a member of The John Marshall Law Review and a Quarterfinalist in the Herzog Moot Court Competition, and worked with both federal and state judges, as well as with the office of the Illinois Attorney General. Leahu received his Bachelor of Science in Business and Economics, summa cum laude, with a minor in Theology from North Park University, Chicago, in May 2010.
Leahu served as an editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Policy in its publication of the 2013 Federalist Society Student Symposium, and has presented and written on a variety of legal topics, including: “Preserving Free Speech in Traditional Public Forums: The Fight for Free Speech in Millennium Park” at the Chicago-Kent College of Law Christian Legal Society; the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education–Not-for-Profit Corporations (2017), Chapter 1—Organizing an Illinois Not-for-Profit Corporation (with Michael P. Mosher); and “Combatting Religious Discrimination Today- Roundtable Discussion on RLUIPA and Construction of Places of Worship” at the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit.
“Dalton & Tomich is pleased to welcome Sorin to the firm,” Daniel Dalton said. “His accomplished work in business law, religious liberty and land use will make him an integral member of our legal team and an exemplary advocate for our clients.”
About Dalton + Tomich
Detroit-based Dalton + Tomich PLC is comprised of land use, denominational trust law, and business law attorneys. Serving as a partner to religious organizations, Dalton + Tomich is a national leader in religious property law land use, notably with cases related to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and denominational splits. Learn more about our services for businesses and religious organizations at https://www.daltontomich.com/.
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