Outer Temple Chambers

Business Crime, Regulation and Investigations, Sanctions Law, International Disciplinary Law, International Administrative Law, International Arbitration and ADR, Financial Services Inquiries, Public International Law

Alex was called to the Bar in 2007 for England & wales, in 2019 for New York and in 2020 for Ireland.

Barrister specialising in Business Crime, Regulation and Investigations, Sanctions Law, International Disciplinary Law, International Administrative Law, International Arbitration and ADR, Financial Services Inquiries, Public International Law.

Alex is a barrister called to both the English and Irish Bars and a US-qualified attorney admitted to the New York Bar. He is a specialist in international law and sanctions, with rare expertise in the law of international organisations (IOs). A Franco-British dual national fluent in French and Spanish, Alex is ranked in Chambers and Partners for Sanctions (Band 2) and Legal 500 for Business and Regulatory Crime (including global investigations) (Tier 3). In February 2023 he was elected Co-Chair of the New York State Bar Association International Section London Chapter.

He was appointed to the Attorney General’s London B Panel in 2019 and as Sanctions Officer (first-tier decision-maker) at the Caribbean Development Bank in 2020.

Alex’s core practice areas are: (i) business crime including global investigations and the debarment frameworks of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and International Financial Institutions (IFIs); (ii) sanctions and export control; (iii) international regulatory and disciplinary proceedings; (iv) international administrative law and the institutional law of IOs including their privileges and immunities; and (v) international arbitration and ADR. Alex is one of few practitioners who have been instructed in LCIA arbitrations against IOs.

Alex litigates before international courts and tribunals, mostly in Washington DC, New York City, London and the regional hubs for IOs such as Geneva, Vienna, Jeddah and Addis Ababa. The cases he has been instructed in have involved more than 40 IOs. Between 2020 and 2023, Alex has been successful before several International Administrative Tribunals including those of the World Bank, Organization of American States, Islamic Development Bank and United Nations (all reported).

His unusual practice often leads to instructions on cross-over (and cross-border) issues involving economic sanctions (in 2022 and 2023 he acted for the British Government on the sale of Chelsea FC and the proceeds thereof in light of the designation of its former owner under Russian sanctions), investigations, IOs and the anti-corruption regimes of MDBs/IFIs.

Alex authored the chapter on MDBs and their debarment systems in Lissack and Horlick on Bribery and Corruption (3rd ed., Lexis Nexis, 2020), co-authored the chapter on UK, UN & EU sanctions in Smith, Owen and Bodnar on Asset Recovery (Criminal Confiscation and Civil Recovery) (OUP, 2019), and was a contributing editor to White-Collar Criminal Prosecutions in the US and UK – A Comparative Treatise for Practitioners (American Bar Association, 2022). Alex has been a member of the Bar Council International Committee for a decade and is registered for direct access and qualified for litigation. Before starting at the Bar, Alex worked as an intern at the International Criminal Court in the Office of the Prosecutor in The Hague.

French (native), Spanish (fluent), Italian (basic)

Elected as London Chapter Co-Chair of the New York State Bar Association International Section (2023). Appointed as Sanctions Officer at the Caribbean Development Bank (since 2020). Called to the Irish Bar (2020). Appointed to the Attorney General’s London B Panel (from 2019 to 2024). Admitted to the New York Bar (2019). Member of the Bar Council International Committee (since 2014). Rapporteur for Oxford International Organisations (OXIO), Oxford University Press. UN Office of Staff Legal Assistance (OSLA) volunteer lawyer. Diplomas from the International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Sanremo, on the Law of Armed Conflict: 152nd International Military Course (2013) and 34th Advanced Course on IHL (2017).