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 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.