Before being Called to the Bar of England & Wales, Lesley completed a Bachelor of Arts in English and History in Canada. Deciding to focus her career on the law in the U.K., she then undertook her LLB at the University of Leicester, followed by a LLM in Bar Professional Training at City, University of London. She is currently completing her LLM in International Human Rights Law at the University of Essex. 

In 2019 Lesley was a speaker at the UN Women’s Conference in Kazakhstan, where she presented to activists, policy makers and police agencies. She offered recommendations to a panel of government representatives and legal professionals regarding the introduction of policy and legislation to tackle sexual and gender based violence. 

Whilst undertaking the Bar course, Lesley volunteered as a caseworker for the National Centre for Domestic Violence, an organisation providing free advice and representation to victims of domestic violence and abuse. She has also volunteered as a McKenzie friend, attending court with victims seeking injunctions and emergency non-molestation and occupation orders. 

Previously Lesley has worked with women in the criminal justice system, including as an advocate for women in prison, providing support and assistance for those recently released from prison. She has also worked with women and young people attending court and navigating social services within the community and she has worked on miscarriage of justice cases more widely. 

BA, LLB, LLM (Clinical), LLM, BPTC