Bruce A. Leslie
Law and Mediation Practice
More than 40 years practicing business law in Nevada, providing advice, strategies and solutions to local, regional and international clients in a range of industries. Legal practice focusing on casino resort law, including negotiating and preparation of agreements, planning or disputes relating to: acquisitions and sales, financings, senior executive employment and severance, development, suppliers, leasing, construction, retail, restaurant, nightclub, and entertainment venues. Further areas include guiding clients on compliance and governance, and negotiating and documenting loans, real estate transactions, general business acquisitions and sales, licenses and joint venture agreements. Past firm memberships include: Beckley Singleton, Bernhard & Leslie and Armstrong Teasdale.
Significant Cases
• Multimillion dollar contracts to acquire, develop and operate real estate into hotels/nightclubs
• Senior executives’ employment agreements with equity, severance
• Chefs and up-scale restaurants involving $5 million or more in restaurant buildouts within casinos
• Restructuring of casino resort financing
• Sales and franchises of construction industry businesses
• Nine figure resort sales and developments
Skill Areas and Key Accomplishments
• Governance and Nominating Committee (10 years)- Chair & member
• Audit Committee Member (13 years)
• Compliance Committee and “Hotline” Committee Member (13 years)
• Member of the Independent Director’s Litigation Committee
• Chairman of internal compliance investigations
• Sole trustee of independent directors’ indemnity trust & Risk Management Oversight Committee
• Licensed or found suitable by multiple gaming regulatory authorities
Board Membership
Board Directorship – Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. October 2002– April 2016
Pinnacle Entertainment (NASDAQ: PNK) is a publicly-traded gaming and entertainment company with casino resort properties in Nevada, Colorado, Louisiana, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania and a racetrack in Texas. During board tenure, the metrics on the growth generally arising from development, acquisitions and improved operations, measured at the closing of the GLPI-REIT transaction, were as follows: Casinos: 5 vs.15; Revenue: $524M vs. $2.3B; EBITDA: $73M vs. $617M; Operational cash flow: $39M vs. $408M; Share price: $5.50 vs. $39; Shares outstanding: 26M vs. 61M.
Significant Accomplishments
Top Lawyers 2013, Vegas Inc.
Selected as a 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Banking and Finance Law by Martindale-Hubbell and American Lawyer Media (ALM)
Named to Nevada Business Magazine's "Legal Elite" (2013)
Top Lawyer in Southern Nevada, Desert Companion and LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell (2012)
The Best Lawyers in America®, Banking Law and Real Estate Litigation (2011-present)
AV® Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
Recognize by the Clark County Bar Association for 12 years on the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board (2013)
Presentations & Publications
Author, “The Doctrine of Alter Ego – Piercing the Veil – Nevada," (November 2022)
Author, "United States: Mediation: A Litigation Alternative," Mondaq (September 2013)
Author, "Mediation: A Litigation Alternative," Nevada Business Magazine (July 2013), republished
Instructor, "Race Track to Casino," Independent Study Class, Miami University (Spring 2012)
Speaker, “The Role of Audit Committees in a Publicly Traded Company,” Miami University (October 2011)
Author, "The Generation Skipping Tax and the Individual Trustee," Estate Gifts and Trust Journal
Author, "Nevada Living Will Statute," Inter Alia (Nevada Bar Journal)
Bruce has lectured undergraduate and graduate classes at Miami University, and has presented before the Association of American Law Schools, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, National Judicial College, and First Boston's High Yield Conference.
Hobbies
Cycling, hiking/mountaineering; Italian and German languages and travel.