Mr. Leonard served as counsel for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union through several phases of labor disagreements including such issues as civil rights, racial discrimination, hiring and registration disputes, and management's unfair labor practices. The files of Leonard and Carder consist of legal cases brought before the court by their firm over the period 1951 to 1983. The documents found within the collection substantiate the process of labor arbitrations through National Labor Relation Board hearings, state and federal court cases and within the ILWU itself.

Norman Leonard was born in New York City on 27 February 1914. As a young man he moved with his family to Los Angeles, where he was graduated from UCLA in 1934. He later obtained an MA (1935) and an LL.B. (1938) from Columbia University. Leonard was first employed as a lawyer by the firm of Gladstein, Grossman and Margolis, which represented waterfront and other labor unions in San Francisco. During the McCarthy era the law firm also represented political dissidents, including members of the Communist Party. Mr. Leonard practiced law continuously until 1986, with the exception of his US naval service during World War II.

8.34 linear feet

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