For nearly two decades, Laésha has maintained a dispute resolution practice that focuses on securities, administrative law and complex commercial litigation. As an administrative lawyer she has worked extensively on investigations and enforcement proceedings involving government and regulatory agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. She has represented clients in hearings before various administrative tribunals and has assisted in both challenging and defending decisions or actions taken by governments, regulatory bodies and tribunals.
Her clients have included global financial institutions, with frequent international travel to represent them across multiple jurisdictions in Asia, Europe and North America. Her litigation experience builds upon her ability to advocate and navigate through complex contested proceedings. She has appeared as counsel at all levels of court in British Columbia and regularly assists clients to achieve favourable court outcomes as well as settlements.
In British Columbia, prior to joining Poulus Ensom Smith LLP, Laésha was a partner at McEwan Partners and served in the public sector as litigation counsel in the Enforcement Department of the British Columbia Securities Commission. Prior to relocating to British Columbia in 2015, Laésha practiced for ten years at top international law firms in New York, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, and London, Allen & Overy LLP, where her practice focused on high‑stakes commercial litigation and acting for large financial institutions in relation to a broad range of regulatory and white‑collar criminal issues including market manipulation, insider trading, anti‑bribery and corruption, mis‑selling, fraud and other systems and controls failings.
-
Securities
- LL.B., McGill University, 2005
- B.A., Queen’s University, 2002
- Rise Women’s Legal Centre
- Canadian Bar Association
- Canadian Association of Black Lawyers
- Selection Committee, 2023 JD Bridges Bursary, JD Bridges Foundation
- The Advocates’ Society
- Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia
- Vancouver Bar Association
- Women’s White Collar Defense Association
- New York, 2006
- British Columbia, 2017