Marcos Zunino, Chief

Marcos qualified as a lawyer in Argentina in 2002. He has previously worked at the Administrative Law Division of the UN Secretariat, the Office of Staff Legal Assistance and the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials. He has also held positions at international non-governmental organizations and in the court system of Argentina.

Marcos has been a scholar in residence at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice of New York University, a research fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and a visiting lecturer at the School of Law of the University of Glasgow. He is the author of a book on transitional justice and several journal articles and book chapters.

He holds a PhD in International Law from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, a master’s degree in International Studies, Peace and Conflict Resolution from the University of Queensland in Australia, and a law degree from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Robbie LEIGHTON

Robbie qualified as a Solicitor in England and Wales and worked as a criminal defence lawyer for five years, successfully defending clients charged with all manner of crimes including murder. In 2010 he moved to C?te d’Ivoire where he worked with the Danish Refugee Council, developing income generating activity projects for refugees. He later worked with the UNUCI Rule of Law section. Since joining OSLA, Robbie has gained a wealth of experience advising staff members on issues relating to their contract of employment and representing them before the UNDT and UNAT. Robbie has an MA from Edinburgh University and studied law at the College of Law in London. Robbie is based in the Geneva office.

Brandon GARDNER

Brandon is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar, and practiced law in the US before joining the UN in 2007, initially as a UN volunteer with the Department of Justice of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). He has since been employed as a legal officer in the United Nations in various roles. Prior to joining OSLA, Brandon worked with UNMIK’s Human Rights Advisory Panel and with its Rule of Law Liaison Office. Brandon holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Pittsburgh. Brandon previously served in OSLA’s Addis Ababa office (2016-2018) and is currently based in OSLA’s Nairobi office.

Julia KYUNG MIN LEE

Julia is qualified to practise law in Ontario, Canada, where she worked in private practice in as a litigation attorney in the areas of commercial, employment and human rights law. She joined the United Nations in 2012, working for the Prosecution’s Trial team in the case Prosecutor v. Ratko Mladic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Julia has also worked as a legal intern at the Presidency of the International Criminal Court. Julia holds a Juris Doctorate from Queen’s University, and a Bachelor of Laws in civil law from Université de Montréal. Julia is based in the Beirut office.

Shubha NAIK

Shubha is qualified to practice law in India and for ten years had served in the Legal Department of the Indian Navy. She has gained experience in the field of administrative, employment and criminal law whilst serving in the Indian Navy as a Judge Advocate Officer (Legal Officer). She holds a Bachelor of Law (Hons) degree from Salgaocar College of Law, Goa, India and has obtained LLM from the National University of Singapore. She also holds a Post Graduate Diploma from the Mumbai University, India in Alternative Dispute Methods. Shubha is presently based in the Addis Ababa office.

Duke DANQUAH

Duke is admitted to the Bar High Court of Ghana and to the New York State Bar. After working for several years in the UN Secretariat including the International Civil Service Commission and for the Administration of Children’s Service (New York City), he was appointed as the Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee (UNDP/UNOPS/UNHCR) for three years. Duke served as a legal officer in the OSLA’s forebear, the Panel of Counsel, until the creation of OSLA in 2009. Since then he has been a Volunteer Counsel in OSLA, whilst maintain a small law practice externally. Duke is based in the New York Office.

Ana Giulia STELLA

Ana is qualified to practice law in Switzerland. Before joining OSLA, she worked as an attorney at law in private practice for 6 years, focusing on commercial and contract litigation. Prior to this, she worked at the International Trade Centre and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, and she interned at the Latin American Economic System in Caracas, Venezuela and the Trade Law Centre in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Ana holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Master’s degree in International Law from the Geneva University Law School, as well as a Certificate in International Commercial Arbitration from the American University Washington College of Law and a Certificate in Negotiation Strategies from Yale School of Management. Ana is based in the OSLA Geneva Office.

Jason BIAFORE

Jason is qualified to practice law in Ontario, Canada and New York, USA. He began his legal career in private practice in Ontario before moving to New York where he worked for more than a decade as a public interest lawyer, representing clients in matters ranging from immigration law to disability rights and civil justice reform. Jason is a seasoned litigator, having appeared before various courts and administrative tribunals throughout his career. He pursued his law studies at Queen’s University Faculty of Law, graduating with a Juris Doctor and a Certificate in International Public Law, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Concordia University, Montréal. Jason is based in the OSLA Nairobi office.

Kalaycia CLARKE

Kalaycia qualified as a lawyer in Jamaica and Barbados. She subsequently became a member of the Jamaica Bar and practiced law in Jamaica before joining the UN. Prior to joining OSLA, she worked as an Associate Legal Officer with the International Court of Justice. She holds an LLM in International Dispute Settlement from the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the West Indies. Kalaycia is currently based in OSLA’s Beirut office.

Martine LAMOTHE

Martine is a member of the Bar of Port-au-Prince in Haiti. She worked as a general practice lawyer for five years before joining United Nations Development Program as a junior expert for criminal reform; she was a Legal Officer and a Conduct and Discipline Officer for the United Nations mission in Haiti. Her last post was as a Legal Advisor for the police component of the United Nations integrated office in Haiti. She holds an LLM In US legal studies from the University of Connecticut (UCONN) and a certificate in International Human Rights. She also has a master's degree in criminal law from the University of Poitiers in France. Martine is based in the New York office.

Hilda Ojiambo

Alumnus of University of Nairobi Law School, Ms. Hilda Ojiambo graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2012. She is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a member of the Law Society of Kenya since 2015. Ms. Ojiambo also holds a postgraduate diploma in law from Kenya School of Law and certificates on the African Human Rights System, Women’s Rights in Africa and Data Protection from University of Pretoria. Before joining OSLA, Hilda worked as an advocate in public service at the Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Kenya), representing the Commission in court matters on administrative law. Ms. Ojiambo has also previously worked in private practice litigation and in various reputable human rights NGOs such as Save the Children International in 2014 and KELIN in 2013, a local health rights NGO working to protect and promote the rights of Persons Living with HIV. While working at the Commission, she also offered legal and secretarial support to the network of African Ombudsman institutions – the African Ombudsman and Mediators Association (AOMA). She is presently based at OSLA’s Nairobi office.

Aly Ahmed

Aly Ahmed qualified as a lawyer at the Egyptian Bar in 2010. He has worked in Egypt's Public Prosecutions Office since 2012. Aly was the Chief Prosecutor at the Supreme Office for Public Finance Crimes since 2019. He has extensive experience encompassing the investigation and prosecution of complex criminal cases related to public finance, money laundry, human trafficking, and organised crimes. Aly has three LLM degrees from: the University of Glasgow, UK (specialization in International Commercial Law); American University in Cairo (International and Comparative Law) Ain Shams University (General Law). Aly is based in the New York office.

Marco Gambardella

Marco is a licensed lawyer in Italy with a wide range of litigation experience at both domestic and international levels. Marco first joined the United Nations system in 2010 working as a legal intern for the Trial Chamber in three UN-supported international criminal tribunals: the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). He later worked as an Assistant Lawyer (Associate Legal Officer) with the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). He subsequently joined the Legal Affairs Office of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), where he advised on the interpretation of the Staff Regulations and Rules of the UN and international legal issues including privileges and immunities. Marco also worked as a litigator in private practice on employment and contract law matters.

Marco holds a Law degree from the University of Naples and a Masters’ Degree in International Relations and International Protection of Human Rights from SIOI - the Italian Association for the United Nations. Marco is based in the Nairobi office.

Talha RATHORE

Talha is the Legal Assistant based in the OSLA Office in New York.

Wilson WAHOME

Wilson is the Legal Assistant based in the OSLA Office in Nairobi.

Yasmin Ariana JOHN

Staff Assistant based in the OSLA Office in New York.