Overview
Leigh Riley is a partner and a former vice chair of the Business Law Department with Foley & Lardner LLP. She focuses her practice on employee benefits and executive compensation. In the area of employee benefits, Leigh concentrates on welfare plans, including COBRA and HIPAA privacy rules, and retirement plans, including nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. In the area of executive compensation, she counsels both private and public companies on establishing and administering all types of executive compensation programs, including stock options, restricted stock, phantom stock arrangements, and stock appreciation rights.
Leigh is a member of the firm's Management Committee and former chair of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice. She is also a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice and the Insurance & Reinsurance and Automotive Industry Teams. Leigh joined the firm in 1997 after practicing with the Philadelphia firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
Recognition
Leigh was recognized in Chambers USA for Labor & Employment: Employee Benefits & Compensation (2017-2023). She has been selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law (2007 - 2023). She has also been named the 2013, 2017, and 2023 “Milwaukee Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers. In 2012, she was recognized as one of Wisconsin Law Journal’s "Women in the Law" for her achievement of excellence in employee benefits and executive compensation law, and for her positive influence on other women pursuing legal careers, encouraging women to seek advanced opportunities within the profession.
Education
Leigh is a 1995 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University in 1991.
Admissions
Leigh is admitted to the Bar in Wisconsin.