In 2010, McLeay co-signed a letter alongside 26 other constitutional experts, criticising the "Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010" which was passed after the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. In 2018, McLeay was part of a group of 19 law and politics academics who criticised the so-called "waka jumping" Bill, which was part of the Labour-NZ First Coalition Agreement. In both instances, McLeay and the constitutional experts were concerned about executive overreach, and the diminishing role of Parliamentary conventions.