Spear’s Review

Family lawyer Melissa Lesson, who joined Mills & Reeve as a partner in 2024, specialises in cross-border cases involving divorce, trusts, prenuptial agreements and children law.

Fluent in Italian and French, her client base is very international, and she frequently collaborates with legal professionals around the world to resolve cases that involve assets in multiple jurisdictions. 

One of the most common problems she encounters arises when neither party is English, or the marriage did not take place in England. ‘It’s the biggest way people end up losing half of their money,’ she says.

‘If clients have been married outside England, they will often have some form of prenuptial agreement,’ she explains, ‘but it may not be a particularly detailed document.’ She adds: ‘If you don’t know the language and you get married abroad because it’s beautiful and the weather is nice, do you really understand what you’re signing up to?’

To help clients avoid this, she works closely with lawyers in other jurisdictions to identify and mitigate potential risks at an early stage.

Adviser Profile

Melissa Lesson, after 24 years at Mishcon de Reya, is now a partner at Mills & Reeve. A dual French and English national, she speaks French and Italian.

Melissa specialises in complex finance and children multi-jurisdictional cases involving significant assets. Her client base is often high-profile and very international. She regularly works on cross-border cases, particularly with lawyers in France and Italy, and on international prenuptial agreements.

Her recent reported case, Ferrara v Ferrara, was decided by the Court of Appeal in May 2026.

Melissa speaks at international conferences, most recently in Paris and Milan, and is a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers.