About Leonard H. Bucklin

Leonard Bucklin is either the principal author or an editor of the top-rated forms sold by LawyerTrialForms™.

Recognition by Peers and Clients: Leonard Bucklin is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. The Academy attempts to identify the top 500 trial lawyers in the United States, and selected trial attorneys in other countries.

Bucklin is rated “AV” in regard to legal ability and ethical standards. AV is the highest rating by the Martindale-Hubble Rating System. The Martindale-Hubbell ratings are used by in-house counsel and other sophisticated buyers of legal services to identify and select the most appropriate lawyer for a specific task at hand. The Martindale-Hubble ratings are an objective indicator of a lawyer’s ethical standards and professional ability and are used by buyers of legal services to justify their hiring decisions.

As a plaintiff’s attorney, Bucklin is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. The Forum is limited to attorneys who have won million-dollar verdicts and settlements for their clients. As a defense attorney, Bucklin has done defense work for over 35 insurers.

Publications, and Publisher of legal forms: Bucklin has written over 18 published legal journal articles and books. Recently he ended a five year position as the editor of Neoethics, the ethics section of eDICTA, published as an Internet Zine by the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association.

In 1972, Bucklin published his first trial notebook system and legal forms for lawyers doing litigation. In the decades since that initial publication, he has been involved in various seminars and publications to help trial lawyers be more efficient in depositions and trials. He has refined his systems and litigation – handling recommendations to lawyers, which advice is most notably found as published by James Publishing Company in Building Trial Notebooks, a three volume loose-leaf trial notebook system with over 800 pages of advice on how to handle depositions, litigation, and trials.

Legal Employment: Of Counsel to Bucklin, Klemin & McBride, P.C., in North Dakota (1992- to present), a regional law firm serving five states. Of Counsel to firm of Allison & Huerta in South Texas (1992–1997). Before those: President of Bucklin Trial Lawyers p.c., in North Dakota, a regional trial law firm serving plaintiffs and defendants in six states for serious litigation; General Counsel for Provident Life Insurance Company, supervising litigation in 34 states; Partner, and senior partner, of Zuger & Bucklin in North Dakota.

Legal Education and Bar admissions: University of Minnesota Law School two degrees (B.S. in Law, and J.D.) State and Federal Courts of Texas, Minnesota, Colorado, and North Dakota. Also admitted to the bars of the Ft. Yates Sioux Indian Tribe, United States Court of Claims, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and U. S. Supreme Court.

Legal Professional Career: Bucklin’s legal practice for 40 years has been balanced between commercial and personal work, and between office practice and litigation, and between plaintiff and defense work. Bucklin’s primary experience is in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Colorado, and Texas, but the nature of his practice (see above) has taken him to many states for litigation or interaction with attorneys of dozens of states.

Bucklin is an adjunct faculty member, Round Table Scholars. The Round Table Scholars has been profiled twice by the Wall Street Journal, which calls RTG one of the few firms of true value for high profile companies seeking intellectual expertise.

Representative Professional Associations and Activities at various times, not all now, include: American Bar Association [Business Law Section; Litigation Section ( Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committees); Tort Trial and Insurance Section (Corporate Counsel and Professional Liability Division)]. American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility. American Trial Lawyers Association. Defense Research Institute (Professionalism and Ethics Committee). Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Texas Center for Legal Ethics. Texas State Bar Association (Litigation Section). North Dakota State Bar Association (Chairman 14 years, of Committee on Procedure and Adjective Law). Burleigh County (ND), Corpus Christi (TX) and Maricopa County (AZ) Bar Associations. Advisory Committee on Trial Procedure to the North Dakota Supreme Court (15 years).

Honorary Societies and Biographies: Order of the Coif (legal academic honorary). Phi Delta Phi (legal academic fraternity). Delta Sigma Rho (speech and forensics academic honorary).

Bucklin is listed in Who’s Who in American Law and Who’s Who in the South and Southwest.