Refugees and Displaced People.

For many years I have been involved in developing strategies and projects to meet the legal needs of refugees. I have spent time working in refugee camps, training paralegals, advising asylum seekers on resettlement pathways, managing strategic litigation in claims raising issues of broader interest/application, negotiating bulk resettlement of vulnerable populations including unaccompanied minors, supporting the expansion of alternative pathways to resettlement (in particular community sponsored resettlement), and leading the global expansion of legal and economic empowerment programmes which support integration outcomes in destination countries.

I have established a number of projects in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region which support the legal recognition claims of stateless people.

Closing Space for Civil Society.

Supporting NGOs and CSOs to navigate increasingly restrictive regulatory environments. Re-domiciling NGOs and advising on asset protection.

Crisis management following seizure of assets, arrests of senior personnel, de-registration.

Advising at-risk human rights defenders on strategies to avoid harassment, persecution and arrest.

UN Treaty Body Engagement.

I have acted for clients in several successful individual communications to a range of UN Treaty Bodies. I have acted for many NGOs in relation to the preparation of shadow reports to the Treaty Bodies. I have also supported both Governments and NGOs to engage effectively in the Universal Period Review process, and have worked in a pro bono capacity with several of the UN Special Rapporteurs in support of their mandates. I have also assisted clients to engage the Special Procedures on a range of human rights issues.

Business & Human Rights.

I advise many global businesses on human rights risks and impacts connected with business operations. I have advised in relation to:

• Modern Slavery in supply chains

• Adverse campaigns by activist NGOs

• Evidence of gross human rights violations by heavily armed security personnel guarding high value sites in less developed countries

• Human Rights Due Diligence processes

• Governance, transparency and grievance mechanisms

• Dangerous products causing death

• Civil society engagement / rights-holder engagement

• Arrests of employees and other interactions with the criminal justice systems in countries with challenging legal environments

• Identifying salient human rights associated with particular investments

Governments.

I have advised many governments (particularly those in less developed countries) on:

• the domestic implementation of international human rights treaties

• the creation of enabling environments for civil society

• transitional justice

• strategies to reduce the population of people held in places of detention

• legal and regulatory reform to increase foreign direct investment

Children’s Rights.

I have led a number of successful law reform projects to create more child-friendly justice systems.

In Australia I worked with the Aboriginal Legal Service to provide advice and representation to indigenous young people being held on remand in overcrowded juvenile detention facilities. I have recently been involved in a successful legal campaign to represent and secure the release or transfer of 117 children held in adult prisoners in the Copper Belt region in Zambia.

I led a team of lawyers supporting UNICEF and the Government of Bangladesh to reform the Children’s Act to bring it in line with the UN CRC.

Governance.

For many years I have served as a director or trustee on the boards of several leading non-profits, global NGOs and businesses.

As ESG issues have climbed up the board agenda for most companies I have increasingly been involved in providing strategic advice to the boards of several businesses and I co-Chair the Board Advisory Service at DLA Piper.

In recent years I have collaborated with Boston Consulting Group, Harvard Business School and the UNGC to develop a sustainability training programme for the boards of transnational corporations.

Strategic Litigation.

Acting in a discrimination claim on behalf of Indigenous Australians who cannot access the age pension in retirement until they attain 65 years, even though the life expectancy for indigenous males is 59.

Acting for a transgender client to successfully challenge the Australian government’s binary approach to gender on identity documentation, which established the right for transgender people to have their non-binary gender identity recognised.

Acting for a transgender client in a case challenging the requirement in Australian law that a married person was ineligible to change their gender on identity documentation.

Acting in several disability and age discrimination cases.

Representing a client in a claim of sex discrimination against the government of Bangladesh before a UN treaty body.

Diversity and Social Mobility.

I have been personally committed to diversity and social mobility in the legal profession throughout my career. I have designed and initiated several ambitious programmes that have benefited hundreds of individuals in England and around the globe. For example:

Created employment opportunities in the legal sector for newly arrived refugees (who have legal training in their home country) who play key role supporting the implementation and expansion of the KYR programme.

Conceived of and created a market-leading social mobility programme for high school students in the UK who have an interest in the law, known as HeadStart. HeadStart engages participants over a 4-5 year period supporting students from high school through university (or an apprenticeship) and into the legal profession. The students are selected from various groups that are currently under-represented in the legal profession. This programme has already supported more than 150 talented young people by providing financial assistance, mentoring, training and internships to develop skills, confidence and networks. HeadStart has recently been independently reviewed by the Social Mobility Pledge.

I established the Diversity & Inclusion function at DLA Piper in 2013, and recruited the firm’s first diversity manager (the D&I team has grown substantially in subsequent years).

I am member of, and the UK partner sponsor for DLA Piper’s LGBT network. As part of that role I have:

• recently been involved in the establishment of a specialist pro bono clinic which improves access to justice for vulnerable and homeless LGBT people and LGBT organisations in England.

• developed an ‘allies workshop’ and personally delivered this training to more than 200 lawyers. The workshop is scenario-based and allows participants to practice being an effective ally to minorities when they witness subtle forms of discrimination in the workplace. The training fosters a more inclusive legal sector, which is a key enabler of diversity.

COVID-19.

During the global pandemic my legal practice has expanded to respond to emerging challenges. For example, providing assistance to governments seeking to reduce prison populations in order to protect the health and well-being of prison officers and detainees; developing initiatives to relieve the burden of sovereign debt, and freeing up resources for pandemic response investments; advocating on behalf of vulnerable asylum seekers to expedite relocation from refugee camps; advising the Law Centres Network and other legal service providers in relation to funding challenges created by increases in demand and funding shortages; transitioning many existing pro bono legal clinics and community legal education programmes to online platforms.