Masters of the Bench

Lesley Anderson was born in Kendal to Scottish parents. She has never quite forgiven them for the inconvenience of being born over the border, and the consequent teasing from her older brother and sister that she was ’not really Scottish’.

In an attempt to mitigate this (and her subsequent schooling in Birmingham), she married a Scot and now spends as much time as possible in Edinburgh (for the culture, food and rugby) and Sutherland (for the relaxation, walking and attending to Max, her adopted Shetland pony).

Before starting in practice, Lesley taught Law for five years at Manchester University, from where she had just graduated aged 21. Her interests were contract, tort, equity and trusts, commercial law and remedies – hence her opting for the chancery commercial Bar.

After two years as Training Manager at Norton Rose M5 (a national group of solicitors’ practices), Lesley joined Kings Chambers (Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham), where she is now Head of the Business & Property Group; in 2010, she also joined Hardwicke in London.

Lesley took Silk in 2006 and is a CEDR Accredited Mediator and Arbitrator. She became a Recorder and since 2008, sits as a Deputy Judge of the Chancery Division of the High Court. She is immediate past Chair of the Northern Chancery Bar Association and a member of the Chancery Bar Association Committee, where she Chairs the Pro-Bono Sub Committee and has responsibility for CLIPS (the Chancery Litigants in Person Scheme), which has been described by judges as ‘transformative’. She was also a member of the working group on reforming disclosure in the business and property courts.

She was elected a Bencher in 2011 and is Chair of the Membership Committee.

During Lesley’s time at Manchester, her personal tutor was Professor Margot Brazier, and another of her lecturers was one Brenda Hale – so she was certainly blessed by positive women role models.