From 1934, Leivestad was a deputy judge for the Vadsø District Court. He was a secretary in the Ministry of Justice from 1937, research fellow at the University of Oslo from 1939, assistant secretary in the Ministry of Justice from 1942 and deputy under-secretary of state from 1945. In 1947, Leivestad was appointed presiding judge in Hålogaland Court of Appeal. He was named Supreme Court Justice in 1958, serving until 1977 when he retired.[1]