Our team - Lexbridge Lawyers | International and Government law firm

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Richard Braddock
Partner
Dr Sarah McCosker
Partner
Damien van der Toorn
Partner
Richard Rowe
Special Counsel
Netta Goussac
Special Counsel
Mark Jennings
Special Counsel
Georgie Juszczyk
Admin & Marketing

Richard Braddock

Partner

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.

Richard.Braddock@lexbridgelawyers.com

Dr Sarah McCosker

Partner

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).

Sarah.McCosker@lexbridgelawyers.com

Damien van der Toorn

Partner

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.

Damien.VanderToorn@lexbridgelawyers.com

Richard Rowe

Special Counsel

Richard Rowe PSM is a Special Counsel with Lexbridge. Richard has enormous breadth and depth of experience across public international law having worked in this field for over four decades, particularly during his career in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He was the Department’s Senior Legal Adviser with overall responsibility for the International Legal as well as the Corporate Law areas. He was also Head of the International Organisations and Legal Division and the Pacific Division in the Department.

He has been Ambassador to Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and he also served in senior positions in Australian Missions in New York, Geneva, New Caledonia, London and Hanoi.

His principal fields of expertise are international criminal law, international humanitarian law, the law of the sea, treaties law, international dispute settlement and negotiation skills and practice, in both a bilateral and multilateral context.

He has been the Head of the Australian Delegation and a representative to many international conferences and negotiations in these subject areas.

Richard is an Honorary Professor in the College of Law at the Australian National University, a member of the Advisory Board of the Australian National University’s Centre for International and Public Law and a Senior Fellow (Law Masters) at Melbourne University Law School. He teaches ‘international law and international relations’ courses at both Universities. He also has a particular interest in diplomatic tradecraft/the practice of diplomacy.

richard.rowe@lexbridgelawyers.com

Netta Goussac

Special Counsel

Netta Goussac is a Special Counsel with Lexbridge. Netta has worked as an international lawyer for over a decade, including for the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Australian Government’s Office of International Law. Her principal fields of expertise are international humanitarian law, international disarmament law, the international law on the use of force, international criminal law, and security and counter-terrorism law.

Netta has particular expertise in legal frameworks related to the development, acquisition and transfer of weapons. Netta has provided legal and policy advice related to new technologies of warfare, including autonomous weapons, military applications of artificial intelligence and cyber and space security. From 2010 to 2013, she participated in the negotiation of the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty, and subsequently worked to promote universal adherence to its standards.

A focus of Netta’s practice is supporting the implementation of international law through national legislation, policies, doctrine and training. She has provided technical, advisory and capacity-building services in the Pacific, in Asia and in Europe. She has also been an adjunct lecturer at the Australian National University College of Law Masters of Law programme.

Netta holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Australia (2006) and a Master of Laws specialising in international law from the Australian National University (2009).

Netta.Goussac@lexbridgelawyers.com

Mark Jennings

Special Counsel

Mark Jennings is a consultant with decades of experience in international law, specialising in trade and investment law.

Mark worked as the Senior Counsel (Assistant Secretary) in the Office of International Law at the Attorney-General’s Department for 16 years. He worked on many major international law matters during this time, including dispute settlement in the World Trade Organisation. He was a senior member of the legal teams representing Australia before the panels and the Appellate Body in US – Lamb, US – Offset Act (Byrd Amendment), EC – Export Subsidies on Sugar and Australia – Apples.

Mark led the taskforce in the Attorney-General’s Department coordinating the defence of Australia’s introduction of plain packaging for tobacco products in an arbitration commenced under Australia’s bilateral investment agreement with Hong Kong (Philip Morris Asia v Australia). This was Australia’s first investor-State dispute.

Before joining the Attorney-General’s Department, Mark also worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, both in Australia and abroad.

Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Queensland. He was admitted as a Barrister in New South Wales in 1992.

Mark is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Canberra.

mark.jennings@lexbridgelawyers.com

Georgie Juszczyk

Admin & Marketing

Georgie Juszczyk is an Administrative and Marketing Assistant with Lexbridge, and has worked with the firm since June 2018. Georgie is in her fifth and final year of Law / International Security Studies at the Australian National University.

Her principal areas of interest include international trade law, public international law, national security law, constitutional and administrative law.

In 2021, Georgie will be commencing her graduate role at the Sydney registry of the Federal Court of Australia with Justice Yates.

georgie.juszczyk@lexbridgelawyers.com