Associated lawyer of SAVOLAINEN Avocats, she has been instructed in some of the leading cases in international criminal law including the first trial of a former Head of State (former President of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic) and the first case at the ICC of an incumbent Head of State (President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya). Before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, she represented Ivan Cermak in a case that has been described as the most important trial in the history of Croatia. Before the Rwanda Tribunal (ICTR), she acted for the defence in the trials of Alfred Musema (the first trial of a civilian alleging command responsibility for genocide) and Ferdinand Nahimana (a trial concerning the responsibility of the media for genocide in Rwanda in 1994). In 2019, she was appointed as an independent commissioner to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Gillian is currently advising the Government of South Sudan on international legal issues. She also provides interactive Witness Familiarisation sessions for both experts and witnesses of fact in any legal forum. These sessions include cross-examination experience and are intended to give individuals confidence in giving evidence in legal proceedings.
In 2023, Gillian launched the Cultural Heritage Desk which she leads at 9BR Chambers. She provides legal services and lends her mediation and negotiation skills to resolving issues arising in this field including cultural restitution. She also reviews publications in this field for Oxford University Press. See here. Cultural Heritage Desk qu’elle dirige au sein de 9BR Chambers. Elle fournit des services juridiques et met à profit ses compétences en matière de médiation et de négociation pour résoudre les problèmes qui se posent dans ce domaine, y compris la restitution des biens culturels. Elle examine également des publications dans ce domaine pour Oxford University Press. Voir ici.
Gillian’s advisory practice involves assisting states to investigate allegations of corruption and human rights abuses, capacity building, advising on transitional justice, sanctions, improving relations between governmental institutions and assisting states to fulfil their human rights obligations.
In 2019, Gillian and Steven Kay KC established the Interpol Red Notice Desk at 9BR Chambers. She has also served as a member of the steering committee for Oxfam’s Lawyers Against Poverty programme and provided advice and legal services to a range of organisations including the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Kurdish Human Rights Project.
Gillian is registered to accept instructions under Direct Public Access. Gillian is also registered as Counsel before the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.
As an accredited civil and commercial mediator, Gillian employs this skillset throughout her legal practice, assisting clients with ‘difficult conversations’, brokering agreements and empowering institutions and government agencies to facilitate better communication. She is also a faculty member of the London School of Mediation. London School of Mediation.
In addition to her legal practice, Gillian is a recognised pioneer of wellbeing at the Bar as an accredited mindfulness teacher. For the past 6 years, she has designed and developed presentations, workshops, and courses for a broad range of legal institutions and bodies including The International Criminal Court, Gray’s Inn, Women in Criminal Law, The Criminal Bar Association, The South-Eastern Circuit, civil and commercial chambers, Barclays Bank and JPM Chase. Gillian is the author of Mindfulness at Work and Home and a Champion of LawCare. Mindfulness at Work and Home et championne de LawCare.