Dr. Leanne O’Leary

Senior Lecturer in Law, Edge Hill University

Leanne is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Edge Hill University, and a dual qualified solicitor.  Leanne completed her undergraduate and Master of Laws degree with first class honours while practising as a commercial solicitor in New Zealand.  She worked on the Shipman Inquiry, a public inquiry which investigated the crimes of the United Kingdom’s most prolific serial killer, Harold Shipman, before requalifying as a solicitor in England and Wales and specialising in employment law. Leanne’s research interests focus on alternative dispute resolution and the intersection of sports law and employment law. She is a co-investigator in the European Commission-funded EMPLOYS project which is evaluating good governance in athlete relations in Olympic Sports in the European Union, Norway and the United Kingdom.  Leanne completed her PhD at Trinity College, Dublin and has published in leading sports law and employment law journals, including the Industrial Law Journal, the International Sports Law Journal and the European Competition Law Review. Leanne is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and an accredited mediator. She is an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a member of the Sport Resolutions Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators, and an adjudicator with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution.