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Nesha Balasubramanian

Nesha Balasubramanian

Ni-shah Bah-lah-soob-rah-mun-iyanShe/herSenior Associate

I believe in being guided by those with lived experience of a particular issue.

About

Nesha Balasubramanian is the Senior Associate, Pro Bono Manager, Australia and manages the firm’s pro bono programme across its four Australian offices. She has completed a Masters of Law focusing on human rights and social justice at Columbia Law School, New York.

Nesha supports non-profit organisations, charities, UN agencies, community legal centres and individuals by providing pro bono support and developing and implementing programs to provide legal education and increase access to justice for vulnerable communities.

She is experienced in legal education, law reform, project management, public interest litigation, and advocacy for individuals. Nesha has a keen interest in human rights issues, particularly those affecting migrant, refugee, and stateless populations as well as First Nations Peoples.

During her time at Columbia Law School, she developed her insights on human rights advocacy and how to work with impacted communities, intersectionality, transitional justice, and the impact and consequences of climate change as a cross sectional issue in human rights globally. In New York, she worked on statelessness advocacy with directly impacted people.

Professional QualificationsSolicitor of the High Court of AustraliaSolicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales

EXPERIENCE

  • Nesha’s recent work includes facilitating national legal empowerment programs for vulnerable communities, including people from refugee and migrant backgrounds and young Indigenous women, teaching law students at the University of South Pacific in Fiji about the rule of law and pro bono, assisting vulnerable Indigenous women and children to seek birth registration and obtain birth certificates, and working with international actors to advocate for law reform on issues of statelessness in the Asia Pacific region.
Education
  • Columbia Law School, Masters of Law, Deans Honors
  • Law at the University of New South Wales, Bachelor of International Studies, First Class Honours

Prior Experience

Prior to joining the pro bono team, Nesha worked as an Associate in the Federal Court, and as a Solicitor in commercial litigation for an international law firm where she was also seconded as in house counsel at Mission Australia.

Nesha has been working as Australia Pro Bono Associate since January 2018, taking a leave of absence from June 2019-June 2020 to complete her Masters of Law at Columbia University.

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Law Society of New South Wales

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