Attorney Sorin A. Leahu joins Dalton & Tomich
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, land use and zoning, and civil rights, especially religious liberty issues involving the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000. In addition, 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 regularly advises religious organizations, not-for-profits, and small- and mid-sized corporations on a variety of corporate matters and legal compliance issues, with a particular emphasis on Chicago’s growing Romanian community.
Leahu has been admitted to practice in the State of Illinois (2014), the Northern District of Illinois (2015), and the 7thCircuit 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 the 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, a Quarterfinalist in the Herzog Moot Court Competition, and also 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 has 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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Media Contacts: Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus Communications; barbara@eafocus.com; 248.260.8466;
Daniel Dalton; ddalton@daltontomich.com; 248.229.2329
About Us
Dalton & Tomich, PLC is the national leader in successfully helping churches, other religious institutions and their insurers defend their rights in land use and zoning matters under RLUIPA, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. We have helped clients win cases against municipalities and other local government bodies from coast to coast, with experience serving both as general counsel and special litigation counsel.
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The Urban Church will be forever grateful to Dalton & Tomich plc for navigating it through a difficult land use issue. Let them give you honest and caring advice because that’s exactly what they’ll do.
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Dalton & Tomich, PLC helped us immensely in the areas of litigation and negotiation! Their professionalism and understanding of church policy helped our church be victorious in a modern day religious land use battle. RLUIPA Religious Land Use Case: Lighthouse Community Church of God
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I met Dan Dalton during a dark time for our church. He was recommended as the leading RLUIPA attorney in the nation. He demonstrated wisdom, expertise, a gentle nature, a calming inter-relational skill, genuineness, and a humble demeanor, while at the same time, being sharp, […]
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