Lesley Brooks Wells (b. 1937 in Muskegon, Michigan) was appointed as a federal judge in 1994 and since February 2006 has continued to serve as a senior judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Wells earned a B.A. from Chatham College (now Chatham University) in 1959 and a Juris Doctor degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University in 1974. She was employed as a federal court intern through the Women's Law Fund from 1973 to 1974.[1]
Wells maintained a private law practice for six years (1975–1978 and 1980–1983) in Cleveland, interrupted by two years (1979–1980) as director of the ABAR III Civil Rights Litigation Support Center at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. She was adjunct professor at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (1980–1981) and adjunct assistant professor, College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University (1980–1983 and 1990–1992).[1]
After more than a decade as a Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas judge (1983–1994), former U.S. President Bill Clinton nominated her on November 19, 1993, for a judgeship vacated by John Michael Manos.[1] She was confirmed by the Senate on February 10, 1994, and received her commission the following day. Twelve years later (February 14, 2006) she became a senior judge.[1]
Wells is married to Charles F. Clarke, a partner in the multinational law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey.