Leigh has a diverse practice, covering domestic and international criminal law, Inquiries, judicial review and civil litigation.
From 2021 to 2023, Leigh was a full time Advocate Depute prosecuting serious crimes solely in the High Court. Prior to becoming an Advocate Depute, Leigh regularly appeared as defence counsel in the High Court and before the Appeal Court in conviction and sentence appeals.
Leigh also has experience of litigating cases involving a mix of criminal and civil law issues. She was junior counsel for the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland in relation to the malicious prosecution claims brought by David Whitehouse, Paul Clark and David Grier arising out of their
involvement in the administration of Rangers Football Club.
In addition to her court work, Leigh has been involved in various inquiries, including the Sumburgh FAI (fatal helicopter accident involving off-shore workers) and the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry where she has represented the Lord Advocate as junior counsel since 2017.
Internationally, Leigh has prosecuted and defended cases concerning serious violations of international humanitarian law. Leigh was part of the prosecution team which successfully prosecuted the former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, before the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Leigh was also part of the defence teams representing: the former Deputy President of Kenya, William Ruto, before the International Criminal Court (ICC); the former President and Commander-inchief of the Mouvement de libération du Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba, before the ICC; the Darfuri revolutionary, Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain, before the ICC; the former Deputy Chief of Staff and commander of operations of the Forces Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo, Bosco Ntaganda, before the ICC, and the former Minister for Planning in the Rwandan Government, Augustin Ngirabatware, before the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
Miller and Miller v Her Majesty’s Advocate 2022 JC 33: Successful appeal, jury directions on concert
Grier v Chief Constable, Police Scotland [2022] CSOH 2: Successful defence, liability of Police and prosecution authorities for malicious prosecution