Leopoldo J. Yanez represents clients in complex litigation, arbitration, regulatory, and strategic matters involving the energy, manufacturing, logistics, and financial services sectors. For more than a decade, he has represented clients through all stages of litigation and arbitration and has appeared in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the United States, including New York, Louisiana, Texas, Illinois, and Puerto Rico. His clients include Fortune 100 companies, major U.S. financial institutions, investor-owned utilities, and multinational manufacturing and logistics enterprises.
His practice is particularly focused on disputes and legal issues arising across the oil and gas and electric energy value chains. He has substantial experience defending clients in complex tort, environmental, and commercial litigation matters involving large-scale industrial operations and environmental incidents. He served as a key member of the trial team in one of Louisiana's most significant environmental disaster cases, and earlier in his career, he defended a multinational oil and gas company against hundreds of personal injury and breach of contract claims arising from oil spill response operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
In addition to his litigation and arbitration practice, Leopoldo advises clients on legal and regulatory developments affecting the rapidly evolving energy sector. A graduate of the University of Virginia and the New York University School of Law, Leopoldo earned a masters of law degree in Global Energy, International Commercial Arbitration, and Environmental Law from the University of Texas School of Law, specializing in traditional and emerging energy market regulation, including gas and electric utility regulation, public utility ratemaking and judicial review, energy market deregulation and restructuring, and the legal issues associated with the ongoing energy transition.
Leopoldo has been recognized as a "Top Lawyer" in Commercial Litigation by New Orleans Magazine (2025), named to Best Lawyers Ones to Watch® in America for Commercial Litigation (2021 – 2024), Litigation – Banking and Finance (2021 – 2024), and Litigation – Securities (2022 – 2024), and honored as a CityBusiness Leadership in Law award recipient (2023), in recognition of his professional accomplishments, leadership, and contributions to the legal community.
Prior to joining Baker Donelson, Leopoldo practiced in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he represented clients in shareholder derivative actions, securities class actions, and internal investigations involving pharmaceutical and financial institutions with significant operations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. His work included matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other cross-border compliance issues.
Originally from Nicaragua, Leopoldo is fluent in Spanish and regularly counsels Spanish-speaking clients in their native language. A strong advocate for immigrant and LGBTQ rights, Leopoldo has been honored multiple times with Immigration Equality's Safe Haven Award for his pro bono representation of LGBTQ individuals seeking asylum in the United States.