Overview
Representative Work
Activities & Membership
Awards & Recognition
News & Publications
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Overview
A member of the firm's Corporate Finance & Transactions and Mergers & Acquisitions groups, Leon is an experienced corporate and business restructuring attorney. He represents corporate clients in a wide range of business matters, including finance, license agreements, customer and supplier issues, equipment purchasing and financing, acquisitions and divestitures, and shareholder and director issues.
Leon has represented the purchasers in several transactions in which businesses were purchased from various debtors. The purchased businesses included four steel foundries, an electric power plant, a pulp mill, an RV manufacturer, a cab company, and two printing companies.
Leon's extensive experience also includes advising clients in complex, court-supervised bankruptcy cases as well as out-of-court restructurings and workouts.
From 1975-76 he served as a law clerk to the Oregon Supreme Court. Leon has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 1987.
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Featured Work
Solar Project Sale Shines Light on Tonkon Team
Tonkon Torp represented our long-standing client, Obsidian Renewables, in sale of the Black Cap Solar II project to PSEG Solar Source, a New Jersey-based utility. Find details and more featured cases here.
Tonkon Torp Completes Complex Asset Sale for Privately Held Business
In late 2014, Tonkon Torp represented a privately held heavy industrial equipment manufacturer in a complex transaction that included selling business assets and real property, and leasing other related business property. The selling company is a long-term client of the firm.
Obsidian Renewables
2012 was a year of full-scale retreat for most renewable energy developers, both in Oregon and nationwide. Key tax credits and other incentives had expired or were expiring, and low natural gas prices kept demand for renewables low. This did not deter local developer Obsidian Renewables.
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Professional Memberships
American Bar Association
Multnomah Bar Association
Multnomah Bar Association
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Awards & Recognitions
The Best Lawyers in America
1987–2018, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law (Chapter 12 Commercial, Mergers & Acquisitions, Out-of-Court Workouts, Workouts and Restructurings)
2013–2018, Corporate Law
2013–2018, Corporate Law
Super Lawyers
2007–2010, Oregon Super Lawyer - Mergers & Acquisitions
2014–2017, Oregon Super Lawyer - Business/Corporate
2014–2017, Oregon Super Lawyer - Business/Corporate
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Recent News
11.29.2017
Tonkon Torp Attorneys Lead Legal Session at TiE Startup Bootcamp
Attorneys from Tonkon Torp’s Entrepreneurial Services and Labor & Employment practice groups spoke to Oregon start-ups at the TiE Oregon Bootcamp on October 25. TiE Oregon is the local chapter of a global entrepreneurial organization that seeks to…
8.16.2017
Best Lawyers in America® Names 49 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to 2018 List
Forty-nine Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 39 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2018. Nearly all attorneys have been named to the list in past years, and have been recognized for more than five years…
7.11.2017
28 Tonkon Torp Attorneys Honored on 2017 Super Lawyers Lists
The national attorney rating service Super Lawyers has named 28 Tonkon Torp attorneys in 10 practice areas to its 2017 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists for Oregon. The annual Super Lawyers list represents the top 5 percent of attorneys in Oregon…
5.9.2017
Tonkon Talk Helps Founders Avoid Common Mistakes
During the May 3 Tonkon Talk, business attorney Leon Simson and guest Jim Huston, co-managing director of Portland Seed Fund, shared a blueprint to help founders build a healthy startup while avoiding common mistakes. A key takeaway of the…
1.12.2017
Tonkon Torp Attorneys Speak to Startups at TiE Bootcamp
Attorneys from Tonkon Torp’s Entrepreneurial Services and Labor & Employment practice groups spoke to Oregon startups at the TiE Oregon Bootcamp on November 28. TiE Oregon is the local chapter of a global entrepreneurial organization that seeks to…
1.4.2017
Leon Simson and David Forman Demystify the Cap Table at Tonkon Talk
Business attorneys Leon Simson and David Forman dove into the mysteries of cap tables during the November 2 Tonkon Talk. They broke down a cap table, which outlines who owns what securities of a company, and they shared several ways the cap table…
8.15.2016
Best Lawyers in America® Names 44 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to 2017 List
Forty-four Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 38 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2017. Each attorney has been named to the list in past years, and nearly all have been recognized for more than five years…
7.11.2016
28 Tonkon Torp Attorneys Honored on 2016 Super Lawyers Lists
Twenty-eight Tonkon Torp attorneys in ten practice areas are named on the national 2016 Super Lawyers or Rising Stars lists. Super Lawyers are selected through a process that identifies outstanding lawyers in dozens of practice areas. Factors…
8.18.2015
45 Tonkon Torp Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America® 2016
Forty-five Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 39 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2016. All of them have been named to the list at least once before, and many of them have been recognized for a number of…
7.23.2015
2015 Super Lawyers Honors 23 Tonkon Torp Attorneys
Twenty-three Tonkon Torp attorneys in nine practice areas are named on the national 2015 Super Lawyers or Rising Stars lists. Two partners are recognized on the Oregon Top 50 list, lawyers rated most highly by their peers statewide.
6.26.2015
Tonkon Torp Establishes CENTRL Office Location
Tonkon Torp has established an office at CENTRL Office, the new collaborative workspace on NW 14th and Everett in the Pearl District. The firm joins a mix of CENTRL Office tenants including PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment), the Oregon Angel Fund…
3.20.2015
Tonkon Torp Holds Free Legal Clinic to Entrepreneurs
Attorneys from Tonkon Torp's Entrepreneurial Services practice group – Claire Brown, David Forman, Jay Huh, Leon Simson, and Lauren Wallace – held a free legal clinic at the Oregon Technology Business Center (OTBC) in Beaverton on March 12, 2015. At…
9.30.2014
Tonkon Torp Entrepreneurial Group Hosts Panel Seminar
Tonkon Torp's Entrepreneurial Services group held a panel seminar, "I Have an Idea? Now What?", on September 30. Leon Simson brought together a panel of experienced entrepreneurs for the event and moderated the discussion on how to get from concept…
8.20.2014
Best Lawyers in America® 2015 Names 49 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to Prestigious List
Forty-nine Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 40 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2015. All of them have been named to the list at least once before, and many of them have been recognized for a number of…
7.9.2014
2014 Super Lawyers Honors 23 Tonkon Torp Attorneys
Twenty-three Tonkon Torp attorneys in 11 practice areas have been named to the national 2014 Super Lawyers or Rising Stars lists, including three partners who are recognized on the Oregon Top 50 list, lawyers rated most highly by their peers…
5.23.2014
Second “Show Me the Money” Event Attracts Entrepreneurs
Tonkon Torp’s Entrepreneurial Services practice group hosted the second of three programs designed to help start-up companies understand funding issues in connection with the launch and growth of their businesses. The program featured a panel of…
4.28.2014
Tonkon Torp Sponsors, Leon Simson Speaks at NW Bankruptcy Institute
Tonkon Torp was a "Reception Sponsor" at the Northwest Bankruptcy Institute on April 25 in Seattle, Washington. The annual Institute was sponsored by the Oregon and Washington State Bar.
4.17.2014
Tonkon Torp Sponsors OEN's Angel Oregon Spring Showcase
Tonkon Torp was a sponsor at Oregon Entrepreneurs Network's (OEN) Angel Oregon Spring Showcase on April 16. The showcase featured the three finalists from the Angel Oregon Investment Program and introduced attendees to Oregon's "most exciting" early…
4.16.2014
Tonkon Torp Offers “Show Me the Money” Series for New Business Founders
On April 23, Tonkon Torp's Entrepreneurial Services practice group held the first program in their three-part "Show Me the Money" seminar series for business owners and start-ups. This first program was titled "Meet the Funders" and featured a panel…
8.15.2013
50 Tonkon Torp Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers in America® 2014
Fifty Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 42 practice areas were selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2014. “We are honored to have more than half of the firm’s partners recognized by the larger legal community for their legal talent…
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Publications & Presentations
"Formation Issues Faced by Startups," TiE Oregon Bootcamp, October 2017
"Building a Healthy Startup: Avoiding Common Founder's Mistakes," May 2017
"When Do You NEED to Talk to a Lawyer," TiE Oregon Bootcamp, November 2016
"Demystifying the Cap Table," November 2016
"Hot Topics in 363 Sales," 27th Annual Northwest Bankruptcy Institute, Oregon and Washington State Bar, April 2014