Natasha commenced practice in September 2017 on completion of her 12-month pupillage in Chambers and accepts instructions in all Chambers' main areas of practice. During pupillage, she assisted her supervisors in cases before the High Court, the Court of Appeal, the Employment Tribunals, the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the Competition Appeals Tribunal, the European Court of Human Rights and arbitral tribunals.
Before coming to the Bar, Natasha lectured in law at the University of Oxford, King's College London and at the Faculté Libre du Droit Paris. She has also previously worked as a consultant on human rights issues for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the Federal Ombudsman of Pakistan, and (with Baroness Helena Kennedy QC) for AMAR International Charitable Foundation in Iraq.
Natasha was admitted to practise as a lawyer in New South Wales, Australia in 2009, where she appeared for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in a range of matters in the Local and District Courts, and acted as instructing solicitor in several District and Supreme Court criminal trials.
Natasha accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers' civil liberties and human rights practice. Since joining Chambers, she has worked on cases concerning human rights and civil liberties in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights.
Natasha has published widely on human rights and civil liberties, and taught human rights law at undergraduate and graduate levels at the University of Oxford from 2012-2016.
Acting pro bono for the AIRE Centre, intervening in a case about whether refugees in the UK's sovereign base areas in Cyprus have the right to enter the metropolitan UK (with Mike Fordham QC, Katie O'Byrne and Natasha Simonsen).
Challenge to the lawfulness of the Security Services' collection and retention of bulk data (assisting Thomas de la Mare QC, Ben Jaffey QC and Daniel Cashman)
Appeal by a prisoner against the dismissal of his claims under Articles 3 and 8 ECHR and for disability discrimination in relation to sanitation arrangements in a high-security prison (assisting Ben Jaffey QC)
Claims by Libyan/Moroccan family against MI5 and MI6 for complicity in their unlawful abduction in Thailand, rendition to Libya, detention and torture (assisting Ben Jaffey QC)
Application to the Strasbourg Court challenging the compatibility of the Metropolitan Police's retention of personal information about peaceful protestors with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (assisting Ben Jaffey QC)
Natasha accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers' public international law practice. Since joining Chambers, she has worked on public international law issues in cases before the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights.
Natasha's doctoral thesis at the University of Oxford was on the definition of torture in public international law. She has worked as a consultant on public international law issues including the rights of the child, refugee law, and international humanitarian law.
Acting pro bono for the AIRE Centre, intervening in a case about whether refugees in the UK's sovereign base areas in Cyprus have the right to enter the metropolitan UK (with Mike Fordham QC, Katie O'Byrne and Natasha Simonsen).
Claims by Libyan/Moroccan family against MI5 and MI6 for complicity in their unlawful abduction in Thailand, rendition to Libya, detention and torture (assisting Ben Jaffey QC)
Natasha accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers' public law and regulatory practice.
In addition to her academic work on public law and human rights, Natasha has worked on a number of public and regulatory law cases before the High Court, Court of Appeal and Competition Appeals Tribunal, for both claimants and respondents.
Group action by consumer who purchased or leased vehicles manufactured by VW, Audi, Škoda and SEAT which contained "defeat devices" to reduce NOx emissions during engine testing (assisting Thomas de la Mare QC and Ben Jaffey QC)
Assisting on potential claims against the Secretary of State for Health in respect of the conduct of the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency.
Challenge to the lawfulness of the Security Services' collection and retention of bulk data (assisting Thomas de la Mare QC, Ben Jaffey QC and Daniel Cashman)
Trial of preliminary issue as to whether a railway training accreditation body is an "undertaking" for the purposes of s 18 of the Competition Act 1998 (assisting Tristan Jones)
Application for judicial review of a decision of the FSCS denying compensation to victims of mis-selling of ARM bonds (assisting Ben Jaffey QC)
Competition Appeal Tribunal trial concerning BT's challenge to Ofcom's business connectivity market review (assisting Tristan Jones, Mark Vinall and Daniel Cashman).
Natasha accepts instructions in all areas of EU and competition law. She worked on a number of competition cases during her pupillage, including follow-on and hybrid damages claims in the High Court and Competition Appeals Tribunal, as well as advisory work.
Trial of preliminary issue as to whether a railway training accreditation body is an "undertaking" for the purposes of s 18 of the Competition Act 1998 (assisting Tristan Jones)
Competition Appeal Tribunal trial concerning BT's challenge to Ofcom's business connectivity market review (assisting Tristan Jones, Mark Vinall and Daniel Cashman).
Competition damages claim relating to the setting of interchange fees, including applicable law and limitation issues (assisting Kieron Beal QC and Tristan Jones)
Follow-on damages claim by purchasers of automobile bearings after the European Commission imposed a €953 million fine in respect of a 7-year cartel (assisting Thomas de la Mare QC, Naina Patel, Tristan Jones and Celia Rooney)
Natasha accepts instructions in all areas of commercial litigation.
$800m+ claim in the BVI Commercial Court concerning a joint venture in relation to various power generation and distribution assets in Russia (assisting Pushpinder Saini QC and Robert Weekes)
Hearing in the Court of Appeal on the proper construction of pre-emption provisions in the articles of association of a private limited company (assisting Mark Vinall)
Claim for deceit and breach of warranty relating to a sale and purchase of a pharmaceutical company (assisting Robert Weekes)
Group action by consumer who purchased or leased vehicles manufactured by VW, Audi, Škoda and SEAT which contained "defeat devices" to reduce NOx emissions during engine testing (assisting Thomas de la Mare QC and Ben Jaffey QC)
Claim concerning subordinated loans alleged to have been extinguished by operation of Russian law (assisting Andrew Green QC and Robert Weekes)
Arbitration hearing before the British Boxing Board of Control, raising issues relating to breach of contract and quantum of damages (assisting Robert Weekes).
Natasha accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers' arbitration practice.
Claim concerning subordinated loans alleged to have been extinguished by operation of Russian law (assisting Andrew Green QC and Robert Weekes)
Natasha accepts instructions on all aspects of employment law. During her pupillage, she assisted with several trials in the Employment Tribunal and successfully defending an appeal in the Employment Appeals Tribunal. She has experience of working on issues relating to anonymity, confidentiality and proceedings in camera.
Acted for a party alleging constructive unfair dismissal, direct discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, victimisation and harassment against her former employer.
Successfully defending an unfair dismissal claim by former FX trader dismissed for disclosure of client confidential information, which came to light following the Forex Scandal (assisting Paul Goulding QC and Diya Sen Gupta)
Unfair dismissal claim by former FX trader dismissed for disclosure of client confidential information, which came to light following the Forex Scandal (assisting Diya Sen Gupta)
Successfully defending an appeal against the Employment Tribunal's refusal to revise a judgment rejecting a claim for more than £6.4 million in damages for unfair dismissal (assisting Diya Sen Gupta)
Defending an application for damages for unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal by a former FX trader dismissed for sharing client confidential information (assisting Diya Sen Gupta)
Natasha has worked on a number of matters with private international law aspects, including questions of jurisdiction, applicable law and limitation.
Claim concerning subordinated loans alleged to have been extinguished by operation of Russian law (assisting Andrew Green QC and Robert Weekes)
$800m+ claim in the BVI Commercial Court concerning a joint venture in relation to various power generation and distribution assets in Russia (assisting Pushpinder Saini QC and Robert Weekes)
Competition damages claim relating to the setting of interchange fees, including applicable law and limitation issues (assisting Kieron Beal QC and Tristan Jones)
LLB (Distinction) (University of Sydney); BCL (Distinction) (Oxon); MPhil, DPhil (Oxon)
Simonsen N ‘Torture’ in Grote R, R Wolfrum and F Lachenmann (eds) Max Planck Encyclopaedia of Comparative Constitutional Law (OUP 2017) (forthcoming)
Lazarus L and N Simonsen ‘Judicial Review and Parliamentary Debate: Enriching the Doctrine of Due Deference', in Hunt M, H Hooper and P Yowell (eds) Redressing the Democratic Deficit on Human Rights (Hart 2015)
Simonsen N (2011) ‘“War on Terror”: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures 2006 (Book Review)’ (2011) European Human Rights Law Review 239
Chilton, F, Rathmall, A & Simonsen, N (2008) ‘Mergers and Acquisitions in Australia’ in Lachman, A (ed) Mergers and Acquisitions: A Practical Global Guide, Globe Business Publishing Ltd
Natasha completed a three-month internship at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Islamabad, Pakistan in 2008. She has also volunteered for refugee and homelessness charities in Australia and the UK, and in 2012 she and and a group of friends swam the English Channel to raise money for the Acid Survivors Foundation Pakistan.
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