Leesa is a Partner of Churchers and a Chartered Legal Executive, and also the Head of the Family team,  with many years of experience in family law. Leesa joined the firm in 1998 and appointed a partner in 2019.

Leesa establishes a good rapport with her clients and is frequently recommended by her previous clients. As a consequence of her high standards of work,  in recent years she was shortlisted in the national Family Law Awards as Chartered Legal Executive of the Year.

Leesa’s straight talking approach assists in identifying the likely order that the court will make and she is highly motivated to achieve the best outcome for the client in the most cost effective way possible. In cases where court proceedings are inevitable Leesa is very focussed on resolving the case to reduce the emotional impact upon the client.  Leesa has provided training on financial applications to local accountants and continues to support other financial professionals when financial claims are made against their business clients.

It has been Leesa’s mission for some time to train, assist and encourage young lawyers to maintain the same ethos in respect of resolving family disputes in a non-confrontational way. Since 2014 Leesa has mentored law students at the University of Portsmouth and is an active Partner within the firm training new staff members within the family team.
Leesa supervises two members of the family team and continues to mentor the young lawyers who trained with her.

Leesa is a Resolution Accredited Specialist and specialises in financial proceedings in divorce, she has achieved the high standards set by Resolution to achieve accreditation as a specialist family lawyer with particular focus on complex high net worth cases since 2014. Due to her high standard of work and her aim to negotiate on amicable terms to avoid court proceedings (following the Resolution strict code of conduct) Leesa has been re-accredited for a further year.  To achieve accreditation each family lawyer must meet and maintain the high standards set by Resolution and provide examples of their level of experience.  Resolution is a national organisation of family lawyers committed to non-confrontational divorce, separation and other family problems. As a member of Resolution, Leesa is committed to resolving family disputes in a constructive, sensitive and cost-effective way.

Leesa supports local charities and worked closely with a domestic abuse charity supporting victims of domestic abuse by being a trustee of the charity. Leesa continues to maintain strong links with the charity and advises clients upon injunction proceedings.   In addition Leesa supports Advice Portsmouth You Trust, a charity providing advice and support to residents in Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Citizens Advice Bureau.

As Leesa identified a need to provide free legal advice to those in need in the community Leesa set up a drop in Service at the Portsmouth and Ryde offices. As a consequence of the drop in service the firm was nominated for many awards for their community based service.

Leesa feels passionately about family law and has provided voluntary support to the founder of Jigsaw Family Support based in Ryde on the Isle of Wight which is a community based child-focused organisation working with parents affected by family separation.

Her work is supervised by partners in the Family and Child Law team.

Areas of Expertise Include

• Pre-nuptial and Post-nuptial Agreements
• Divorce
• Separation Agreements
• Co-habitation Agreements
• Financial Provision Following Divorce and Dissolution of a Civil Partnership
• Dissolution of Civil Partnership
• Consent Orders
• Child Arrangement Orders
• Children Act Statements
• Non-molestation and Occupation Orders

And In Her Spare Time

• Leesa has three children of her own and lives in a blended family of seven. Leesa spends her limited spare time travelling and enjoying food cooked by others. She loves walking the family dog to take timeout from her busy household.

My clients love what I do

• “Excellent Divorce advice and support, divorce is a hellish process. Leesa and her team guided me through this very challenging ordeal; expertly advising, supporting and reassuring me at every step. Leesa’s robust and steadfast advice ensured matters were resolved professionally, fairly and effectively. I am immensely grateful. I would most strongly recommend Churchers.”
• “I would like to thank you most sincerely for the level of efficient  support provided and expert advice given throughout the duration of the lengthy proceedings.  I  felt confident and reassured especially during the most challenging parts when you were able to make the legal process understandable.   Thanks also go to your support team from the receptionists at Portsmouth and Ryde to Daniel and Melloney at Kings Terrace all of whom were able to step in at crucial moments”
• “Please let Leesa know that I say thank you so much for all she did during this process and all her assistance. It was a pleasure as always to deal with Churchers and the staff there.”