Robert Leoni

Robert J. Leoni is a Delaware trial lawyer who over more than 30 years has successfully tried cases to juries in Delaware state and federal courts. He focuses on personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death cases. In one case, Leoni, who is of counsel at Kline & Specter, was co-counsel in litigation that resulted in a $30 million settlement for a young child who suffered severe brain damage due to improperly managed anesthesia during a routine medical procedure. In another, Leoni, as lead counsel won a settlement of more than $3 million for the family of a man killed in a collision with a tractor-trailer.

During his investigation of the case, he uncovered evidence of illegal drug use by the truck driver. In a medical malpractice case, Leoni represented a woman whose OB/GYN failed to treat a persistent lump in her breast which later was discovered, when she was finally referred to a surgeon, to be metastatic breast cancer. That case resulted in a settlement of $2.7 Million. Leoni's accomplishments earned him recognition by the independent survey group Super Lawyers 2020, placing him in the top 5 percent of attorneys throughout Delaware.

Leoni practiced insurance defense law before starting his own Wilmington-based firm, Shelsby & Leoni, with partner Gilbert F. Shelsby, Jr., and representing clients in plaintiff actions. This former practice gave him unique insight on how insurance companies evaluate and defend personal injury litigation. Leoni earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware and went on to attend Widener University School of Law. Immediately after graduation from law school, he served as a law clerk on the Delaware Superior Court.

Leoni served as an attorney for the Delaware State House of Representatives. He is currently a trustee to the Delaware Lawyers Fund for Client Protection, having been appointed by the justices of the Delaware Supreme Court. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the Delaware Bar Association and the Delaware Trial Lawyers Association.