Leanna has a thriving immigration and asylum practice in the First-tier and Upper Tribunals. 

She regularly appears in asylum, deportation, Article 8, Article 3, and family reunion appeals, as well as bail applications and error of law appeals to the Upper Tribunal. 

Leanna advises on immigration-related litigation, such as potential unlawful detention and unlawful delay claims and applications for costs orders.

She has published articles on developments in immigration law on the Free Movement blog and delivered trainings with the Public Law Project on immigration and public law.

Leanna has extensive experience in public international law, including international human rights, humanitarian and criminal law.

As a Legal Adviser at the NGO REDRESS, Leanna led REDRESS’s work on securing the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from Iran. She also ran the sanctions and asset recovery projects seeking reparations for survivors of international crimes and human rights violations.

Leanna has experience working in Iraq building prosecution cases against members of ISIS for the Yezidi genocide under the training and direction of Sareta Ashraph.

As a lawyer with the Global Legal Action Network, Leanna developed litigation to challenge international human rights and environmental issues. Her cases included: 

• World Uyghur Congress v Secretary of State for the Home Department – a judicial review of the NCA’s failure to investigate forced labour cotton imported from the Uyghur region in China
• Al Haq v Secretary of State for Business and Trade – a judicial review of the government’s licensing of arms to Israel
• A criminal complaint to police regarding the use of Pegasus spyware against human rights defenders in the UK.

She has an LL.M. in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights from the Geneva Academy.

Leanna has a broad public law practice. 

She has a particular interest in judicial review claims related to criminal law, immigration law, and prison law, and the intersection between these areas.

She has advised on potential claims for unlawful detention and unlawful delay in determining immigration applications, including in cases with vulnerable victims of trafficking. 

She has delivered trainings on judicial review claims for the Public Law Project.

As a lawyer with the Global Legal Action Network, Leanna worked on judicial review claims to challenge international human rights and environmental issues. Her cases included: 

• World Uyghur Congress v Secretary of State for the Home Department – a judicial review of the NCA’s failure to investigate forced labour cotton imported from the Uyghur region in China
• Al Haq v Secretary of State for Business and Trade – a judicial review of the government’s licensing of arms to Israel

Leanna is passionate about criminal law, having started her career as a criminal defence solicitor advocate for Aboriginal people in the Australian outback. She has a particular interest in complex Youth Court cases, and regularly appears in Youth Court trials, including for victims of trafficking. 

She has advised on associated potential judicial review claims, for example where the CPS declines to consider an out-of-court disposal, and on sentence appeals to the Court of Appeal. 

She has defended clients against applications for gang injunctions in the Youth Court and the Crown Court.

Leanna is building an extradition practice and welcomes instructions in this area.

In 2023 Leanna contributed to international negotiations and drafting of a multilateral treaty on mutual legal assistance and extradition: The Ljubljana–The Hague Convention on International Cooperation in the Investigation and Prosecution of the Crime of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes and Other International Crimes.

Training on ‘Advocacy and public law in the immigration and asylum tribunals’  

Public Law Project – 10 June 2026

Key takeaways from the new Iraq country guidance: documentation and Article 3 risks

Free Movement – 29 April 2026

Applications for costs in immigration cases – what practitioners need to know

Free Movement – 16 April 2026

Training on ‘Steps in a JR – from post-permission to final hearing’ 

Public Law Project – 10 February 2026

Can Companies Knowingly Profiting from Forced Labour “Buy” Their way out of Accountability?

Opinio Juris · May 13, 2024

Symposium on Ljubljana – The Hague Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance: Critical Reflections – Paving the Way for Asset Recovery and Reparations

Opinio Juris · Aug 2, 2023

Sanction. Confiscate. Compensate. How Russian Money Can Be Repurposed as Reparations for Ukrainian Victims

Revue européenne du droit (RED) · Jun 8, 2023

The Bars of the Prison Grew Around Us: The Systematic Human Rights Violations of Iran’s Hostage-Taking Practice

REDRESS · Nov 24, 2022

As Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s lawyers, we know this is a day for celebration, and reflection too

i News · Mar 16, 2022

I represent Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family – this is how we can bring her home

The Independent · Nov 10, 2021

No Place for Optimism: Anticipating Myanmar’s First Report to the International Court of Justice

Center for Global Policy · May 21, 2020