About the Legal Policy & Research Unit (LPRU)

Sara is an employed barrister with over 20 years’ experience in the criminal justice and public policy sector. The majority of her career has been spent working for government, most recently as Director of Strategic Policy at the Crown Prosecution Service.

Sara has led the legal teams on two public inquiries (The Baha Mousa Inquiry and the Detainee Inquiry) and spent several years as a legal and policy advisor to the Senior Presiding Judge and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.

She has sat in a judicial capacity on the Council of the Inns of Court Disciplinary Tribunal between 2013 and 2020 and was appointed as a reviewer for the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel in 2019.

She currently heads up the Legal Policy and Research Unit at the International Bar Association, working across all Committees and Divisions to lead and support a wide range of IBA projects. This frequently involves collaboration with external stakeholders, including the United Nations, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Union institutions and World Bank. Current projects cover business and human rights, anti-corruption, rule of law, cybersecurity and mental well-being in the legal profession.

Anurag has over sixteen years' experience in the international law and policy sector, having worked across jurisdictions as a practitioner, legal researcher and advisor. He is an Indian qualified lawyer with a BCL from the University of Oxford. Anurag started his legal career as a Judicial Clerk with a Supreme Court of India Judge, then interned at international organisations including the UNCITRAL Secretariat at Vienna and the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference at The Hague. He has practiced in Indian Law courts and worked briefly in the corporate sector with Skoda Auto in Czech Republic.

Anurag is an influencer and thought leader in the emerging areas of disruptive innovation, internet of things, digital assets and attorney-client privilege and confidentiality issues. He has published and presented several specialist papers on technology law related issues covering cyber security, blockchain technology, digital identity and social media laws. As former Chair of the IBA Social Media Working Group, he led the development and adoption of the international social media principles for the legal profession by the IBA in 2014.

Anurag regularly contributes to, presents at and participates in key fora. He is an expert contributor for the UN-CEFACT, and for UNCITRAL ; he is the IBA representative at the UK Attorney General’s International Pro Bono Committee meetings; a founding member of the Chinese European Legal Association; a fellow of the European Law Institute; member of the ABA and a life member of the Oxford Union Society.

Helen undertook an English degree at Sheffield Hallam University before going on to study acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

At the IBA she has worked in the Executive Office supporting Mark Ellis and the Executive Assistant, as well as in the Press Office as maternity cover. She joined the LPRU in 2022.

As an undergraduate George studied history at the University of Oxford, before training as a commercial lawyer at Macfarlanes LLP in the City of London. He then returned to Oxford for graduate study, where he undertook a DPhil. In legal history, focusing on the political origins of the rule of law and judicial independence in England.

As BIC Project Lawyer, his role is to assist the BIC in co-ordinating and implementing projects that exclusively support member bar associations and law societies, including capacity assistance projects to developing bars, BIC Policy Committee projects, and projects involving the BIC International Trade & Legal Services committee.

Beatriz holds a Dual Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Political Science from Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Madrid) and a Dual Master’s Degree from IE University in Lawyering and Business Law. During her Master’s Degree, she participated in the IE University Legal Clinic and coordinated a research project on the viability of implementing Social Impact Bonds in Spain.

Before coming to the IBA, she was a legal intern at the Spanish Embassy in Accra (Ghana) and worked as a trainee lawyer at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Spanish Court of Arbitration in Madrid. She speaks fluent Spanish and English.

Daniel holds an LLB in Law from the University of Exeter and an LLM in International Law and Governance from the University of Durham. He is also currently completing the Bar Practice Course.

At the University of Exeter, Daniel worked as a Human Rights Research Assistant on Article 8 ECHR immigration appeals within UK domestic courts and tribunals, and as a Student Advisor at the University’s Access to Justice Clinic. Daniel also worked in the IBA's Executive Office from 2022-2024, managing the IBA's internship programme.

As a Project Coordinator / Paralegal, Daniel’s primary role is to assist with the ‘50:50 by 2030 Gender Project’ and various other LPRU projects.

Emily is an Australian qualified lawyer and holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne, Master of Law (JD) from Monash University and a Master of Law from the University of Cambridge.

Before coming to the IBA, Emily was a lawyer in the climate change and sustainability team of a leading Australian law firm, where she worked with clients across a range of sectors to support their decarbonisation strategies and manage regulatory compliance risks. Emily also has experience in environment and planning law, and litigation, and has a particular interest in the intersections between climate change and the global biodiversity crisis and the ongoing emergence of frameworks for assessing and managing nature-related risks. Emily is a member of the National Environmental Law Association (Australia) and has previously held positions as Associate Fellow with the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law; coordinator of the Climate Law and Governance Initiative; and Judge’s Associate at the Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal (Australia).

As a Project Lawyer in the LPRU, Emily leads projects in environment, climate and business and human rights law and is the Delegate Lead for UNFCCC and COP engagement.

Isla is an Australian qualified lawyer and holds a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations/French) and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the Australian National University.

Before joining the IBA, Isla worked as a lawyer for the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, advising on international trade and humanitarian law. Prior to that role Isla spent several years working as a lawyer for a major Australian firm in litigation, primarily focusing on federal public and administrative law. This included undertaking advisory work, managing high-profile disputes and involvement in federal inquests and inquiries across areas such as privacy, health, environmental planning, research and development, social services and migration.

Alongside Isla’s experience in public and administrative law, her areas of interest include the intersection between gender and the law, wellbeing in the legal profession and access to justice.

Isla is responsible for managing the IBA’s ‘50:50 by 2030’ Gender Project, examining the lack of gender parity across the profession and women’s experiences working in the law; as well as other general LRPU project work.

Alexia is a French-qualified lawyer and former member of the Paris Bar. She holds a Master’s degree in European Union and World Trade Organisation Law from the University of Rennes (Brittany, France), which she completed with an end-of-studies internship at the Council of Europe.

Before joining the IBA, Alexia served as a Lawyer at the Brussels office of the French Bar Association, where she contributed to representing the interests of French lawyers, particularly within the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE). Her work encompassed legal and lobbying activities in areas such as anti-money laundering, professional ethics, environmental law, taxation, EU lawyer mobility, and company law.

Prior to this role, she developed her legal expertise in litigation while working in law firms. During her initial training to qualify as a lawyer, she also gained academic experience as a lecturer at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh, where she taught European Union law and human rights law.”