Melissa Lesson > Mishcon de Reya LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Mishcon de Reya LLP Offices
AFRICA HOUSE
70 KINGSWAY
LONDON
WC2B 6AH
England
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Melissa Lesson
Work Department
Mishcon Private
Position
Melissa is a barrister and Partner in the Family department and heads up the Anglo-French Family Law team. She is also head of the Firm’s French Group. She is a dual French and English national and is a multilingual speaker, speaking French and Italian. Many of her cases have a Francophone angle. Melissa specialises in separation, divorce, trusts and jurisdictional disputes, including complex, multi-jurisdictional cases involving significant assets. These often also include private children matters such as residence and contact, prohibited steps and specific issues. Many of Melissa’s clients have been high profile figures, and she regularly works on cases with lawyers in Paris and on international prenuptial agreements.
Melissa has law degrees from both the Universities of London and Paris and was a pupil at 1 Hare Court. She was called to the Bar in 1998 and became a Partner at Mishcon de Reya in 2008. Melissa speaks at international conferences and is a member of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL). She leads Mishcon’s membership of the French Chamber of Commerce and regularly contributes articles to their website.
Melissa was listed as a Family Law expert in the 2013 London Super Lawyers directory and has been included in the Citywealth Leaders List 2013.
Melissa is a Trustee of the Soke Foundation which funds initiatives aimed at caring for the mental health of the vulnerable, and those unable to seek help due to financial or other circumstances beyond their control.
Career
Partner, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Barrister, Mishcon de Reya (dual qualified as a Solicitor in 2008)
Pupillage at the Chamber of Philip Moor QC, 1 Hare Court
Languages
French
Education
University College London, LLB Law with French Law Diplôme d’Etudes Juridiques from Université de Paris II : Panthéon-Assas
Lawyer Rankings
London > Private client > Family
Barbara Reeves heads the ‘polished’ family law team at Mishcon de Reya LLP, which benefits from ‘having access to the full resources of the firm.’ It is routinely instructed by high-profile, high-net-worth clients and has successfully litigated matrimonial finance cases across all levels of tribunals, including precedent-setting cases in the Supreme Court and Privy Council. The ‘amazingly intelligent’ Sandra Davis is a keen advocate for the voices of children and young people throughout the divorce and separation process. Claire Yorke and Kate Clark have both been described as ‘fast-thinking, hardworking, formidable opponents’. Clark leads the firm’s group specialising in children cases involving parental alienation, while Yorke advises international and domestic ultra-high-net-worth clients on the financial implications of relationship breakdown. The team ‘as a whole displays a fearsome level of talent and tenacity’ with other key members including Clare Radcliffe and Antonia Felix. Melissa Lesson heads up the Firm’s French Group, and newly-promoted partner James Rees has been praised as a ‘gifted new partner to be watched’.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Art and cultural property
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Employment > Employers
- Private client > Family
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Gaming and betting
- Employment > Immigration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Real estate > Residential property
- Employment > Senior executives
Firm Rankings
- Public sector > Administrative and public law
- Real estate > Commercial property: investment
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
- Insurance > Insurance litigation: for policyholders
- Corporate and commercial > Partnership
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Private prosecutions
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- Industry focus > Retail and consumer
- Industry focus > TMT
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- Public sector > Education: individuals
- Employment > Employee share schemes
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Franchising
- Industry focus > Hospitality and leisure
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Film & TV
- Real estate > Planning
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Dispute resolution > Tax litigation and investigations
- Public sector > Civil liberties and human rights
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Employment > Health and safety
- Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, £100m-£750m
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Trade mark attorneys
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions - mid-market deals (up to £250m)
- Real estate > Property finance
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Real estate > Construction: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Crime: general
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Private client > Court of protection