Lara Douvartzidis is an Australian qualified lawyer working in the Legal Policy and Research Unit at the IBA. As a Project Lawyer in the LPRU, she leads projects in environment, climate and business and human rights law and is the Delegate Lead for UNFCCC and COP engagement. She is also an Associate Fellow with the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law.
Prior to joining the IBA she practiced in Sydney as a solicitor and Pro Bono coordinator at Johnson Winter & Slattery and at Australia’s Public Interest Advocacy Centre. During her time in private practice, she advised and acted for corporate and pro bono clients with expertise in environment and planning law, dispute resolution and class actions, ESG and modern slavery law obligations and transitional issues faced by clients in these emerging areas. She is passionate about strategic climate litigation trends, First Nations justice, just transitions, and ESG related risk management and compliance.
She served as the Associate to the Honourable Chief Justice Kourakis of the Supreme Court of South Australia. She holds an Advanced Masters in European and International Human Rights Law (Ad. LLM) from Leiden University in The Netherlands and a double degree in Law (LLB) and Environmental Policy and Management (BEnvs) from the University of Adelaide, South Australia. She was listed as an Australasian Rising Star in 2021, a Finalist in the Australian Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards for Planning, Native Title and Environment Law in 2021, and a Finalist in the Women in Law Awards for Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year in 2020 and 2021.
Lara co-chairs the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights Business and Human Rights sub-committee with Dr Natalia Szablewska. Together they assist businesses and civil society in improving the implementation of human rights principles and meaningfully contribute to the development of modern slavery laws in Australia.