Tod Michael Leaven

Tod M. Leaven was born into a family of service, both his grandfather and father served abroad in the United States Army. He went to elementary school in Asheville and returned to Asheville with his parents after graduating high school. Tod served in the United States Army from 1998 to 2004. He served as a counterintelligence agent and interrogator during the initial Kosovo Occupation with the 1st Armored Division and as a Helicopter Crew Chief and .50 caliber machine gunner during the Iraq War with the 3rd Squadron of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.

After his years of military service, he graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 2006 and graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 2010. In law school, he served on the North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology as a staff member and as Editor-in-Chief.  Tod practiced in Raleigh before returning to Asheville to work with a civil litigation firm. He joined Grimes Teich Anderson in 2014 to develop its veterans practice.

Tod's areas of practice include veterans' disability compensation, benefits for dependents, military discharge upgrades, VA healthcare benefits, extended care programs, education and rehabilitation, USERRA and FMLA protections for service members, assistance with veteran-owned businesses, community association law, small business and non-profit law, copyright, trademark, trade secrets, and estate planning.  Throughout his years of practice, he has represented veterans with veterans' disability benefits as well as representing veterans on a pro-bono basis with family law, estate planning, and collections matters. His civil litigation experience also includes community association law, real estate, construction, trade secrets, unfair and deceptive trade practices, copyright, business disputes, collections, negligence, medical malpractice, civil rights, and Americans with Disabilities Act claims. His transactional experience includes estate planning, trademarks, copyright, business governance advising non-profit corporations, and document review and drafting for community associations. Tod has represented both Plaintiffs and Defendants in state and federal court. He has also appeared before the North Carolina Industrial Commission.

Tod has authored and co-authored numerous publications ranging from veterans and military affairs to intellectual property. He founded the GTA Homeless Veteran Legal Clinic; is the Legislative Chair and a Junior Vice Commander for the Disabled American Veterans Post 02; is the past Judge Advocate for the Veterans of Foreign Wars post 9100; is a member of local, state-wide, and national veterans' advocacy groups; and is a member of the local board of the Selective Service System. He is also on the Advisory Council for the Asheville Lyric Opera.

Tod, his wife Jessica, and their daughters Eleanor and Abigail live in Asheville.