Lesley is a Consultant with a special interest in supporting creatives and academics in the arts and design realms to navigate the nuances of the Global Talent Visa pathway to secure their UK immigration status. She is a proponent of the power of the arts to bridge divides and provide a unique human voice that speaks to our humanity.
Her practice involves advising individuals at early-stage career as well as established internationally renowned creatives in the visual arts, literature, stage, film and TV, comedy and music arenas. She also assists those crucial to the performance/exhibition/publication such as sound engineers, gallery and festival curators, illustrators, theatre professionals.
Lesley also specialises in: citizenship applications particularly complex cases requiring discretion and those involving double descent applications; EU Settlement Scheme applications and applications that enable partners/families to be together.
Her professional background combines over 25 years as an immigration and nationality specialist with 10 years commercial experience as the co-founder and director of a leading business coaching and psychology practice that supports leaders and their teams. Here she gained valuable insight from leading occupational psychologists as she returned to legal practice on the importance of listening, enjoyment and compassion in the world of work.
Lesley was a partner at city firms Kingsley Napley and Reed Smith and boutique firm Magrath. She established from scratch the immigration department at Kingsley Napley and gained a reputation at that time as one of the UK’s leading immigration lawyers with regular recommendations as a leader in Chambers and Legal 500 Legal Directories. She has also authored legal content for LexisNexis PSL and Thomson Reuters PLC.
She spends her time between Edinburgh and London in awe and hope for the incredible creativity each generate.
