LEDC Members

I graduated from SOAS LLM in environment, development and governance in 2012. The LLM course was multifaceted with a huge range of subjects combining law, environment and international development which I always found interesting and rewarding. After graduating, I worked at the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (Bar Council) where I managed the implementation of capacity building projects in Nigeria and Zimbabwe, working in partnership with UNICEF and senior barristers to train grassroots organisations in international human rights standards. I then when to work in UN climate diplomacy for the Legal Response Initiative (LRI) - a London based organisation supporting developing countries at the UNFCCC negotiations. Following this experience, I worked at Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (CAFOD) where I managed a diverse portfolio of project partnerships in Peru focused on water protection in areas affected by extractive industries and locally-led adaptation projects. In 2018 I joined the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) based in London, where I continue to work. As a senior researcher, I am part of the Climate Change Group (CGG) supporting the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group at the UNFCCC negotiations. I am convinced that the LLM at SOAS equipped me well to undertake these posts and offered me the right framework to pursue a career in climate diplomacy and internal development.      

I have worked as an Environment Officer for a local environmental consulting firm on a range of activities including Environmental Impact Assessments and Management Plans. More recently I have worked as a consultant for the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, the Australia Institute (an independent Australian think tank), and Greenpeace Pacific. 

I enjoyed my time at SOAS, the MA teaching had sufficient breadth and depth in terms of the topic areas that I left with a good grounding in environmental law, but also had the opportunity to develop my own interests in detail through course papers and the dissertation. The lectures and seminars had a friendly atmosphere. The course tutors were very approachable, and it was an enjoyable experience to be taught by those at the forefront of environmental law, both in the academic sense and in the real world setting. Environmental law at SOAS has a perfect balance of what might be considered ‘traditional’ legal thinking and more ‘radical’ approaches to pressing societal problems. There was an extraordinary amount of intellectual freedom at SOAS to explore different ideas. Many of these ideas have had a direct influence on my PhD at the Geography Department at University College London (UCL) which explores the relationship between science and law. I am certain that the MA was an important contributory factor to being offered a funded place for doctoral research there.

In my two major roles subsequently the legal training at SOAS has been invaluable. In my position in Australia in a professional consulting firm, I was appointed by the state minister for environment and planning to an advisory group set up to provide recommendations to reform the planning system. I also advised the mining industry on the complex regulatory framework surrounding new mining developments. In the UK, I have been continuing my career in urban regeneration in a very hands on role managing a large multi-million pound regeneration project in south west London. The legal training aspect enabled me to handle a complex EU public procurement process, manage judicial review risk and also handle contractual negotiations around a complex development agreement. If I was to say one thing about the LLM at SOAS, it is that it grounded me throughly in legal thinking and legal processes. The international reach of the course enabled me to easily transfer these skills to other jurisdictions.

Marc Jourdan is the UN Representative and Environmental Programs Coordinator for the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD). Marc is responsible for managing the foundation’s programs at the United Nations, including attending the public sessions of inter-governmental meetings and conferences, organizing side events and publication briefings, making oral interventions and circulating written material on matters related to the agenda of UN meetings as they relate to the Mission of the foundation and the sustainable development of the Dominican Republic. In his additional capacity as Environmental Programs Coordinator, Marc helps to provide content to the environmental programs of the foundation, including its grassroots initiatives ReCrearte and Eco-Huertos which empower individuals and communities through practical workshops that teach the principles of sustainable development.

Prior to joining GFDD in 2013, Marc worked as a policy advisor on climate change issues for the international nonprofit The Climate Group as well as the Permanent Mission of the Maldives to the United Nations. Previously, he worked as a corporate lawyer for 4 years in the United Kingdom. Marc has an LLB in Law and French from the University of Surrey and an LLM in Environmental Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

After graduating from the SOAS LLM in environmental law I completed an internship at the IUCN Environmental Law Centre in Bonn, and worked for the UNFCCC secretariat as a conference assistant. I then returned to London to work for ClientEarth for a few months, as part of their climate and forests programme. Following this highly productive and interesting experience, I became a legal and policy consultant for a newly formed research and advisory organisation called Climate Law and Policy. My work at CLP is highly varied and extremely rewarding, ranging from the provision of legal and policy support to NGOs, the production of in-depth thematic publications and policy briefs, to the design and implementation of governance reform strategies for governments.

After my introduction to the complexities of international environmental law at SOAS, I was inspired to not just learn about the law but be an active part in changing it. The impassioned and diverse perspectives from professors and classmates at SOAS have colored my continued focus on making connections between the laws of the world while pursuing my JD at Harvard, making good use of the international environmental law background I had from SOAS. In 2018, I worked with international courts in The Hague, where I expanded my water law knowledge with law of the sea. 

After SOAS and my LLM on environmental law, I came to Brussels. I was first an intern at ClientEarth an NGO of environmental public interest lawyers and then at the European Commission DG Energy in the unit in charge of renewable energy. After these internships I started working as an environmental legal advisor at Milieu Ltd where I am now an Associate Senior Manager.  Milieu is a tender driven organization that works almost exclusively for the EU and international institutions. I work mainly for DG Environment, DG Energy and DG  Clima of the European Commission on very interesting topics such as shale gas, chemicals, water, climate change, waste, forest, biodiversity, trade and environment, environmental governance.  My LLM at SOAS was a real added value in my professional career.  What I liked at SOAS was that the law lectures were very multidisciplinary including references to environmental science, anthropology sociology, development… Such approach of law is still very useful in my everyday work.

My LLM in Environmental Law at SOAS has given me all the right ingredients for successfully shaping my desired career trajectory: critical, out-of-the-box thinking combined with a wide view of world issues and a great understanding of the environment-development nexus. After graduating from SOAS in 2014, I worked as an environmental lawyer in Italy and then moved on to working with the European Commission on international climate negotiations and technical assistance projects in the field of climate change law and policy. Fast-forward to 2019 and I achieved my career dream to join the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) where I now work as Programme Officer in charge of strategic planning, inter-agency and intergovernmental coordination and Development System reform. I will be forever grateful to Professor Cullet and the amazing team of SOAS lecturers for broadening my vision of the world and the legal and policy instruments needed to address the impacts of the environmental crisis we face.