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Amal Clooney is a barrister who specializes in international law and human rights.

Amal represents clients before international courts including the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. Alongside court work, she provides advice to governments and individuals on legal issues in her areas of expertise.

Amal is ranked in the legal directories Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners as a leading barrister in international human rights law, public international law, and international criminal law. She is described as ‘a brilliant legal mind’ who ‘handles cases of real international importance’ and ‘knows her brief inside out’. She is said to be a ‘natural lead advocate’ who is ‘tactically first class’ and ‘a rare combination of intellectual depth and pragmatism’. The directories also spotlight her ‘superb advocacy’ and ‘commanding presence before courts’ and describe her as ‘a dream performer before international tribunals’. They also emphasize that she is ‘fantastically innovative’ with an ability to galvanize ‘heads of state, foreign ministers and business … in a way that is very effective’ for victims of human rights abuses. She is described as ‘unafraid to raise novel points of law’, ‘very sophisticated in pushing the boundaries’ and having a ‘passionate commitment to the law and compassion for the people it serves’.

Amal frequently represents victims of mass atrocities, including genocide and sexual violence. She has acted in many landmark human rights cases in recent years including the world’s first trial in which an ISIS member was convicted of committing genocide against Yazidis. Amal also represents Yazidi victims in the first case alleging complicity in crimes against humanity by a company that funded the terror group.

Year of Call: 2010, Inner Temple.

Prior to joining the London bar, Amal worked in The Hague at the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. She is admitted to the New York Bar and practiced as a litigation attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York.

She is also a Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School, where she co-teaches the Human Rights course with Professor Sarah Cleveland. And she is the co-founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which aims to advance justice through accountability for human rights abuses around the world.

Amal speaks English, French and conversational Arabic.

French, Arabic.

International Bar Association; International Law Association; British Institute of International and Comparative Law; International Human Rights Lawyers Association; Bar Human Rights Committee; Chatham House.

Oxford University (St Hugh’s College) (BA, Jurisprudence); New York University School of Law (LLM).