EXPERIENCE
I recently retired from my role as Senior Adviser to the President and General Counsel Emeritus of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, an international financial institution headquartered in Beijing with permanent observer status at the United Nations. Earlier I was General Counsel and member of the Executive Committee of the AIIB, advising the governance bodies, establishing and leading the legal function, and helping shape policies on dispute resolution, risk management, audit, infrastructure financing, private sector engagement and climate change.
Before joining AIIB, I was General Counsel and member of the Executive Management Committee of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a specialized agency of the United Nations, working at its headquarters in Rome.
Previously I worked at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, at its principal office in London, most recently as Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel. At EBRD I advised on governance, lending and equity investments, legal aspects of credit and disputes. At all institutions I helped shape the policies and practices on dispute resolution and had overall responsibility for the legal work relating to contentious matters.
I began my career in the private sector, working on international transactions, cross-border disputes, and public law litigation, including advocacy before the courts, at the law firms of Simpson Grierson (Wellington), Arnold & Porter (Washington, D.C.) and Houthoff (Amsterdam). I also worked in-house for BP p.l.c. at its headquarters in London, advising the group chief financial officer and group company secretary on funding and governance.
EDUCATION
I graduated with degrees in law and commerce (accounting and finance) from the University of Otago, New Zealand, I have a qualification in auditing from Victoria University of Wellington, and a master’s degree in law from Harvard University. My Harvard research, undertaken under the supervision of the late Professor Arthur von Mehren, was about arbitral preclusion and was published by Georgetown University.
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
I am admitted as a barrister and/or solicitor (not currently practising) in New Zealand, the State of Victoria, Australia, and England and Wales. I am a member of the Law Society of England and Wales.
I am a Chartered Accountant (Australia and New Zealand) and a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
I am a mediator accredited by Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution and a Chartered Accountant .
I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
I am a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.
ACADEMIC AND RELATED AFFILIATIONS
I am Hon. Senior Fellow, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, Hon. Professor, Queen Mary University of London, and Adjunct Professor, China University of Political Science and Law. My regular teaching and ad hoc lectures address dispute resolution, particularly as it affects international organizations and infrastructure financing. I am a member of advisory boards of Centre for Applied Sustainable Transition Law and Manchester Journal of International Economic Law. I have held visiting professorships at Peking University and Tokyo University and was previously a member of the Publications Committee of the International Bar Association.
I am Founding Editor of Law in Transition, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Yearbook of Legal Practices and International Organizations and Inaugural General Editor of the AIIB Yearbook of International Law, including the issues dedicated to dispute resolution. My articles have appeared in professional journals and academic publications, including recently the Harvard International Law Journal.
PERSONAL
I was born in 1960 and am a citizen of New Zealand and the United Kingdom. I live in Rome, Italy and am able to travel.
