| William J. Leake | |
| Office: | 12th President of the Virginia Bar Association |
| Term Start: | August 3, 1899 |
| Term End: | July 19, 1900 |
| Preceded: | John Goode |
| Succeeded: | William A. Anderson |
| Birth Name: | William Josiah Leake |
| Birth Date: | 20 September 1843 |
| Birth Place: | Goochland, Virginia, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Spouse: | Sarah Jordan Clara Grundy |
| Branch: | Confederate States Army |
| Battles: | American Civil War |
William Josiah Leake (September 20, 1843 - November 23, 1908) was a Virginia lawyer and judge, who served as a railroad president and president of The Virginia Bar Association.
Leake was born in Goochland County, Virginia, and was a great-grandson of William O. Callis.[1] He served four years in the Confederate Army. After the war, he was selected for a term as judge of the Virginia chancery court at Richmond, but declined to be re-elected.[2]
In 1891, Judge Leake decided the case of Bettie Thomas Lewis, concluding that she was entitled to her deceased father's property. The father had owned the mother of Ms. Lewis as a slave. The New York Times reported that this ruling made Ms. Lewis "the richest colored person in Virginia."[3] In a detailed opinion, the Virginia Supreme Court affirmed Judge Leake's decision.[4]
Leake was from 1889 general counsel and from 1905 to 1906 president of the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad Company.[5]
Leake was a charter member of the Virginia State Bar Association, beginning in 1890,[6] and served as president of the Association for 1899–1900.[7]
Judge Leake died at his home in Richmond.[8]