Afamiliar face popped up on Season 14, Episode 12 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey on July 28: Teresa Giudice’s longtime attorney, James Leonard.
The lawyer made his appearance during a meeting that Teresa had organized in order to shed light on her deep-rooted issues with Margaret Josephs.
“Listen, I love this family,” James declared before elaborating on what sort of role he’d be playing in the meeting, where Jennifer Aydin, Dolores Catania, Danielle Cabral, and Jackie Goldschneider, as well as Teresa’s daughter, Gia Giudice, were all in attendance. “And [I’ll do] anything I can to continue to help and maybe make others understand what you’ve all been going through.”
“I think we just present facts, information, and just bring some clarity to the situation,” James added.
Teresa Giudice sitting at a table with her lawyer, James Leonard, during The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14 Episode 12. Photo: Bravo
What did Teresa Giudice’s lawyer reveal during her meeting?
James told Teresa’s RHONJ castmates just how anxious she had been feeling in recent months due to the drama involving Luis “Louie” Ruelas. In fact, he even compared it to the time before Teresa went to jail.
As he put it, “I was involved with her in the weeks and months before she went to prison, and I can say that walking her into prison at 3 o’clock in the morning, she was less stressed than she has been for the last several months.”
Who is James Leonard?
James is a lawyer who first appeared on RHONJ after Teresa and her ex-husband, Joe Giudice, pled guilty to bank, mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud in 2014.
He was even present during the emotional moment when Teresa first returned home from prison and reunited with Joe and her daughters. James later reflected on the memory in a 2021 Instagram post, writing, “I want to tell you something about this scene. Obviously I drove her home so I was there. I purposely stayed behind in the garage because I didn’t want to ruin that moment, that was for the family. A few months later one of the producers and I went to dinner and she showed me the cut ….if you listen, when she and I are walking past the dogs cage, her mic picked up her heart beating out of her chest … that is absolutely the most authentic scene in the history of reality television.”
“100 percent REAL emotion. Period,” James added. “Makes me cry every time I see it because I know how real that was for all of them.”
James Leonard being featured on The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14 Episode 12. Photo: Bravo
Today, James remains close friends with Teresa in addition to being her lawyer. Just this past June, both Teresa and Gia took to their Instagram Stories to wish James a happy birthday. The RHONJ mom wrote, “Happy 50th birthday [James]. Wishing you [all] the best.”
Gia Giudice and Teresa Giudice post a series of James Leonard celebrating his birthday. Photo: Gia Giudice/Instagram; Teresa Giudice/Instagram
Gia shared a photo of her own, telling the attorney, “happy birthday [James]. thank you for everything you do!! love you always xoxo.”
