John Leighton Honored by The American Law Institute

We are excited to announce that Attorney John Leighton has been elected as a member of the prestigious American Law Institute.

Founded in 1923, the American Law Institute (ALI) is the leading independent organization in the United States that produces scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and improve the law. ALI achieves this goal through development of institute projects, categorized as Restatements, Codes, or Principles:

Restatements are primarily addressed to courts. Restatements aim at clear formulations of common law and its statutory elements, and reflect the law as it presently stands or might appropriately be stated by a court. There is the intent to reflect the flexibility and capacity for development and growth of the common law.

Principles are primarily addressed to legislatures, administrative agencies, primary actors, or to courts when an area is so new that there is little established law.

Codes, written in prescriptive statutory language, are addressed to legislatures with a view towards legislative enactment.

ALI Projects have a life cycle that takes them from a series of drafts through the process of official final draft approval and publication. Development begins with a series of drafts proposed by the Reporters and reviewed by a project’s Advisers, Members Consultative Group, the Council, and ALI membership. Project participants and the Council have access to Preliminary Drafts, and Council Drafts.

The Tentative Drafts, Discussion Drafts and the Proposed Final Drafts become available to the public after the ALI Annual Meeting. Upon approval, the Tentative Draft represents the most-current statement of the ALI’s position on the subject. It may be cited in briefs or opinions until publication of the official text.

The American Law Institute, the most prestigious organization of academic lawyers, law professors, and judges that wrote the model laws that most states adopt, provides its distinguished members the opportunity to influence development of the law, in both existing and emerging areas.

Members have the opportunity to work with other eminent attorneys, judges, and academics to give back to the profession for which they have a deep dedication, and contribute to the public good.

The ALI recognizes Mr. Leighton as an elected member with more than 33 years’ experience successfully trying major personal injury and wrongful death cases. The ALI notes that Mr. Leighton won some of the largest verdicts and settlements in Florida, helping people who had the worst things happen in their lives.