East Anglia:
01245 280 880
London:
020 7520 6000
Nina is described as “an incredibly bright and committed lawyer who understands the nuance of her subject matter.” Legal 500 2019
She specialises in international and domestic criminal law. Nina qualified and practiced as a commercial litigation solicitor at Hogan Lovells before transferring to the bar. She is ranked in leading UK legal directories Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 for international crime. According to the rankings she is “very bright and extremely committed to her cases and clients, she will go the extra mile to ensure the delivery of exceptionally high-quality work. She is a barrister who confronts challenges.”
She has extensive experience in genocide and war crimes prosecutions having been instructed in cases before the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her cases have been ground breaking including the successful prosecution of Liberian President Charles Taylor. She has been appointed to the lists of Counsel both for the Defence and Victims at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.
Recently she has focused on the investigation and documentation of international crimes particularly sexual violence and torture perpetrated in Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
In the UK, Nina defends and prosecutes in the Crown Court. She also practices in extradition.
Nina has practiced extensively at several international criminal tribunals as a prosecutor and legal adviser, specifically at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on a number of high profile and ground-breaking cases. Nina holds a masters’ degree in international public law from the London School of Economics. She is a contributor to the forthcoming edition of the leading practitioner textbook on international criminal law Blackstone’s International Criminal Practice, (OUP).
Nina is recognised as an expert on sexual and gender based violence crimes by the UK government which has appointed her a member of its team of independent experts on preventing sexual violence in conflict (PSVI). She is also a member of the JRR-UN Women sexual and gender based violence roster of experts.
She has extensive experience working with survivors of sexual violence and torture, particularly men. She has also been appointed by the UK government as a member of its team of independent justice experts in post-conflict and fragile states.
Nina is consulted by a range of institutions and non-governmental organisations to advise and provide training on a wide range of international criminal law and human rights issues within her expertise including torture, sexual and gender based violence, human trafficking and terrorism.
Recent advisory work includes:
Nina has 15 years’ experience as a lawyer. She was called to the UK Bar in 2014. However, the 11 years she spent as a solicitor before this gives her experience and maturity which goes well beyond her call.
Nina regularly appears in the Crown Courts, defending and prosecuting. She is particularly adept at fraud (including POCA) and financial services work given her background as a commercial litigation solicitor at Hogan Lovells. Her clients included major UK and investment banks, insurers, global manufacturing companies, pharmaceutical, and tobacco companies.
She is comfortable dealing with exceptionally voluminous cases given her extensive litigation experience both in the City of London and internationally working on complex cases lasting several years with an attendant page count.
Along with fraud, she covers the gamut of crime, including serious violence; sexual offences; arson; perverting the course of justice; dishonesty; weapons; drugs; robbery; and road traffic. She has also assisted in preparing the successful defence of the first ever FGM case to be tried in the UK.
Nina practices in extradition acting both for the judicial authority and requested persons. She has appeared in the High Court on behalf of the judicial authority.
Blackstone’s International Criminal Practice, chapter author, OUP, (forthcoming, 2018).
A crime that offends the conscience of humanity: a proposal to reclassify trafficking in women as an international crime, International Criminal Law Review 9 (2009).
2018 – Guest speaker at a conference on Violence against Women and Girls organised by the UK Embassy, Colombia.
2015 – Participant and speaker at Expert Meeting on Customary International Law, Geneva Academy of International Law and Human Rights, Geneva.
2014 – Expert participant at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, London.
2014 – Guest speaker and panelist at United Nations Symposium on the Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Tanzania.
2013 – Guest speaker at the 2013 Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Conference on combatting sexual violence crimes in the Arab world in the context of the ‘Arab Spring’, Amman, Jordan.
2013 – Lecturer at American University of Paris on international criminal law.
Training Middle Eastern NGOs on the establishment of national mechanisms to combat impunity for sexual violence crimes committed in conflict.
Assisting the UN Office of Drugs and Crime in Abuja, to train Nigerian lawyers from the Nigerian National Police Force and Department of State Security on the successful prosecution of terrorism.
“She handles very difficult witnesses with good sense, emotional intelligence and rigour.”
Chambers and Partners 2020
“She provides high-level, clear and accessible advice on how to adhere to best practice.”
Chambers and Partners 2020
“She is an excellent legal drafter who develops comprehensive and in-depth arguments relating to extremely complicated topics. She is an absolute asset.”
Chambers and Partners 2020
“An incredibly bright and committed lawyer who understands the nuance of her subject matter.”
Legal 500 2019
A “seasoned professional.”
Chambers and Partners 2019
“She is very bright, has strong interpersonal skills and is hugely enjoyable to work with.”
Chambers and Partners 2019
A “hard-working team player” with “exceptional legal skills” who attracts plaudits for her “ability to quickly identify key components of issues and prepare clear and concise written submissions.”
Chambers and Partners 2018
“Very bright and extremely committed to her cases and clients, she will go the extra mile to ensure the delivery of exceptionally high-quality work. She is a barrister who confronts challenges.”
Chambers and Partners 2018
“Bright, articulate and unrelenting in getting the best result for her client.”
Chambers and Partners 2018
“She has excellent interpersonal skills reflected in her capacity to listen closely to her clients. Nina helps them to talk about topics which they find confusing or painful, or which they feel ashamed about.”
Chambers and Partners 2018
LLM Public International Law – London School of Economics
BA History (Hons) – University of Birmingham
Bar Human Rights Committee
Criminal Bar Association
South Eastern Circuit
Member of UK government’s team of independent experts on preventing sexual violence in conflict, 2012 (PSVI); and a justice expert in post-conflict and fragile states, 2014 (DCE)
CPS Panel Advocate (Grade 2)
French
