Our team

Richard Braddock is a founding Partner of Lexbridge. He specialises in international trade and investment law, including investor-state dispute settlement. He has provided advice across the entire range of trade law issues, from tariffs and behind the border regulation to investment and intellectual property.

Before joining Lexbridge, Richard Braddock worked as an international lawyer and treaty negotiator for the Australian Government for close to a decade, leading trade and investment law units in both the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Office of International Law. He has acted as legal advisor and negotiator for most of Australia’s Free Trade Agreement negotiations, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA, and FTAs with China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Chile, and Singapore. He acted as lead investment negotiator in the Trans-Pacific Partnership and ASEAN-ANZ FTA negotiations. He was a senior member of the legal team defending Australia’s first investor-state arbitration claim. Before joining the public service he worked as a lawyer in private practice.

Richard Braddock holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) from the University of Sydney, and a Master of Laws in International Law from the University of Cambridge.

Sarah McCosker is a founding Partner of Lexbridge. Sarah has worked as an international lawyer for over a decade, including for the Australian Government’s Office of International Law and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Her principal fields of expertise are international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and international dispute settlement. In the Office of International Law, Sarah served as Director of the International Security section, Director of the International Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Section, and Acting Assistant Secretary of the International Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Branch.

She has provided advice across diverse international law issues, from international human rights law and international refugee law, to international criminal law; the law on the use of force; counter-terrorism, maritime, cyber and space security. Sarah has particular expertise regarding the United Nations human rights system, including periodic treaty reporting and the Universal Periodic Review.

Sarah McCosker holds a Doctor of Philosophy, a Master of Philosophy and Bachelor of Civil Laws from the University of Oxford, all specialising in international law. From the University of Queensland, she also holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) and Bachelor of Arts (Hons I).

Damien van der Toorn is a Partner of Lexbridge Lawyers with decades of experience in handling high profile international law and Australian government matters.

Damien has deep and diverse expertise in the development of complex agreements and legislation, conducting high-stakes negotiations, and managing whole-of-government legal reforms, particularly in the areas of defence and security, trade and investment, maritime and aviation, and environment and climate change.

Damien’s recent major matters have included the $50 billion Future Submarine Program, $35 billion Future Frigates Program, and the $4 billion Australia-Singapore Military Training Initiative for the Australian government.

Prior to founding Lexbridge, he led numerous legal teams across the Australian government, delivering major legal projects. Significant matters included the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement on climate change; free trade agreements with China, Korea, Japan and the Trans-Pacific Partnership; reform of Australia’s maritime enforcement powers; the global agreement to ban cluster munitions; and military deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Timor Leste.

Damien has received a number of commendations, medals and awards from the Australian government in recognition of his work.

Earlier in his career, Damien worked for a large commercial firm, and was a judge’s associate in the Supreme Court of Queensland. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Queensland, as well as a Master of Laws from the University of London.