Education : St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University, B.A./LL.B.
New York University School of Law, LL.M.
Amal Clooney is a legal professional specializing in international law and human rights. She serves as a barrister, representing clients before significant international courts such as the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and the European Court of Human Rights. Beyond her courtroom activities, she offers legal advice to governments and individuals on matters within her areas of expertise.
Professor Clooney holds high rankings in Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, recognized as a leading barrister in international human rights law, public international law, and international criminal law. Descriptions of her include being a “brilliant legal mind” adept at handling cases of global importance, possessing a deep understanding of her brief, and being a “natural lead advocate” with excellent tactical skills. She is noted for her intellectual depth, pragmatism, superb advocacy, and commanding presence before courts.
Frequently representing victims of mass atrocities like genocide and sexual violence, Professor Clooney has been involved in landmark human rights cases. Notable instances include her representation of Yazidi victims in the first case alleging complicity in crimes against humanity by a company funding a terrorist group. She has also represented Armenia in a case related to the Armenian genocide and served as counsel to victims of the Darfur genocide at the International Criminal Court.
In addition to her legal work, Professor Clooney advocates for press freedom and has aided in securing the release of journalists detained for their work globally. She received the Gwen Ifill Award in 2020 for extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom.
Amal Clooney’s diverse roles include serving as Special Adviser to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Darfur and leading a legal task force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine. She also represents political prisoners worldwide and has been involved in international initiatives related to armed drones, the independence of the judiciary, and preventing sexual violence in conflict zones. She co-founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice, dedicated to advancing justice through accountability for human rights abuses globally.
Before joining the London bar, Professor Clooney gained experience at the International Court of Justice and worked as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. She holds membership in the New York Bar and worked as a litigation attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York.
Recently, Amal Clooney has filed a lawsuit in New York on behalf of over 400 Yazidi-Americans, accusing the French conglomerate Lafarge SA of conspiring to provide material and funds to support ISIS terrorist campaigns against the Yazidi ethnic minority.
Awards and honors
Barbara Walters selected Clooney as the Most Fascinating Person of 2014. At the 2014 British Fashion Awards, she was nominated for Best British Style alongside David Beckham, Kate Moss, Keira Knightley, and Emma Watson. In 2016, she was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In 2018, Clooney received the Global Citizen of the Year Award from the United Nations Correspondents Association.
In 2019, Prince Charles inaugurated the Amal Clooney Award to celebrate outstanding young women. The Simon Wiesenthal Center honored both Amal and George Clooney with the Humanitarian Award at its 2020 virtual gala. Clooney also received the 2020 Gwen Ifill Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists for extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom. In 2021, she was presented with the Freedom of the Press Award by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and received the ‘Champion of the International Rule of Law’ Award from the American Society of International Law.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center recognized Amal and George Clooney in 2021 for their contributions to social justice and modern-day freedom efforts at the International Freedom Conductor Awards Gala. In 2022, she became a Fellow of The Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet and was named Woman of the Year by Time magazine. Additionally, Clooney received the Article 3 Human Rights Global Treasure Award in 2022.
In 2023, she was awarded an honorary doctorate (Doctor Honoris Causa) from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and was featured on the BBC’s 100 Women list.
Read about : Mary Elizabeth Magill
