Goodwin today announced that Leonard Wood has joined the firm's Shareholder Activism and Takeover Defense practice as a partner in the firm's New York and Boston offices. He will begin as co-chair to the practice with Joe Johnson and will take over as chair effective October 1, 2025.
Leonard brings extensive experience advising public companies on shareholder activism and proxy contests, strategic investor relations, and contested M&A. He has advised hundreds of public companies on shareholder activism defense and preparation for shareholder activism.
"Activist investor activity continues to register at an all-time high, posing challenges to public companies and shareholder interests across all industries and sizes," said Joe Johnson, partner and chair of Goodwin's Shareholder Activism and Takeover Defense practice. "At Goodwin, we have built deep expertise defending companies in proxy contests and hostile takeover scenarios as well as in guiding boards through complex shareholder engagement and corporate governance mandates. Leonard's addition enhances our shareholder activism capabilities as well as our reach across industries and continents and reinforces our ability to deliver the strategic, sophisticated counsel that helps clients navigate these dynamics successfully and emerge stronger."
"Goodwin stands out as the singular global firm that is truly immersed in its clients' industries," said Leonard Wood. "This approach creates a distinctive advantage for Goodwin in the world of shareholder activism where the name of the game for shareholder activists is their claim to expertise in each target company's industry and business. Goodwin's industry-built approach enables us to craft defense strategies that combine thorough sector knowledge with extensive activism experience. I'm excited to leverage Goodwin's potent mix of legal excellence and business advisory to give company clients a sharp edge against today's most sophisticated activist campaigns."
Leonard holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. from Harvard University and is a former editor-in-chief of the Harvard Business Law Review. He was named to the Legal 500 "Next Generation Partners" list for Commercial Shareholder Activism: Advice to Boards and M&A/Corporate (2026) and was named to The Best Lawyers in America's "Ones to Watch" list for his work in Corporate Governance and Compliance and M&A (2026).
A widely recognized thought leader on matters of activism and corporate governance, Leonard has published extensively in the Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Forum, The M&A Journal, Lexology's "Getting the Deal Through" series, Law360, Insights, Agenda and The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation.
Goodwin's Shareholder Activism and Takeover Defense team leverages decades of experience to steer public companies of all sizes and across industries in managing activist investor campaigns. With deep knowledge of the activist landscape, Goodwin delivers tailored strategies to drive favorable results for clients, resulting in activist withdrawals, favorable settlements, and proxy contest victories.