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More than 2 decades ago, Lesli moved to New Orleans to attend Tulane University’s School of Law.  Tulane Law exposed her to the unique culture of New Orleans, the place that would ultimately become her forever home.  

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She was on Tulane’s trial team, with current New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams as one of her team coaches.  She was secretary of the Black Law Students’ Association and served as a class representative in Student Government Association before graduating in 2002. 

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Following her graduation, she practiced law at Stone Pigman for 16 years and became the second Black woman law partner where she focused her practice on entertainment and intellectual property law.  She represented the New Orleans Saints, the New Orleans Pelicans, the NBA and NFL.

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She received the National Bar Association's Entertainment Lawyer of the Year award.  She is ranked among New Orleans top attorneys and was selected by New Orleans City Business to receive the Leadership in Law honor in 2013, 2017, and just this year.

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In 2018, she become Chief of Staff to President Tania Tetlow at Loyola University of New Orleans.  During her time at Loyola, through hard work, effective leadership, and ideas from the Loyola community, Lesli helped turned Loyola from financial instability to a financially sound institution.  

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When COVID-19 hit, she became Loyola’s “COVID Queen” heading up COVID planning and response operations. She worked with state and local agencies to write and implement policies to find the appropriate solutions and resources for the Loyola Community.  

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In early 2021, Lesli returned to full time practice at Kelly Hart Pitre, representing clients across New Orleans and Louisiana, including Grambling State University and Southern University, startup companies, and artists.

 

Lesli gives back to her community through various community organizations.  She is a member of the Independent Women’s Organization “IWO”, a board member of the Young Artists Young Aspirations “YAYA” in Central City, the New Orleans Bar Association, and the Industrial Development Board of the City of New Orleans.