Melissa Lesson

Mishcon Private

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.

University College London, LLB Law with French Law Diplôme d’Etudes Juridiques from Université de Paris II : Panthéon-Assas