Natasha practises in public law and human rights, regulatory and competition law; as well as related areas such as information law, commercial law, international law and sport. She is frequently instructed in high profile judicial reviews up to and including the Supreme Court, and regularly appears in appeals before the Competition and Markets Authority and Competition Appeals Tribunal.

Natasha's academic background is in economics and law. She holds a BCL, MPhil and DPhil in Law from the University of Oxford and first class undergraduate degrees from the University of Sydney. Natasha’s DPhil was in public international law. Prior to coming to the Bar, Natasha spent several years teaching law at the University of Oxford, King's College London and the Faculté Libre du Droit Paris. She has also previously worked as a consultant on human rights issues for various United Nations agencies and NGOs, having qualified as a solicitor in Australia.

Natasha is a member of the Attorney General’s C Panel of Counsel.

Natasha is recognised by Legal 500 as a "rising star". Recent comments include:

  • "Natasha is a brilliant junior. Her written submissions are sharp, concise and convincing, and she has an excellent way with clients."- Chambers UK, 2023
  • "Natasha is extremely approachable and has an amazing work ethic. I am looking forward to watching the development of her career at the Bar."- Chambers UK, 2023

Previous comments include:

  • "Working with Natasha is a pleasure; she is efficient, quick and well-prepared."- Legal 500

Experience

Shortlist

Public & Regulatory

Natasha practises in all areas of public and administrative law.

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, Supreme Court, Competition and Markets Authority and Competition Appeals Tribunal, for both claimants and respondents.

Natasha is a member of the Attorney General’s C Panel of Counsel.

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Competition

Natasha has a busy competition law practice which includes follow-on and standalone claims in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Competition Appeals Tribunal, as well as advisory work.

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Civil Liberties & Human Rights

Natasha accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers' civil liberties and human rights practice. She has appeared in a number of high profile judicial reviews for both claimants and respondents. 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. 

Natasha is a member of the Attorney General’s C Panel of Counsel.

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Data Protection, Freedom of Information & Privacy

Natasha has considerable experience advising on issues relating to data protection, freedom of information and privacy.

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Energy

Natasha has significant experience in the field of energy regulation. Since spending 3 months on secondment to Ofgem in 2018, Natasha has been involved in many of the leading cases in the area. These include challenges in the CMA to the RIIO GD2, T2 and ED2 price controls, in which she successfully represented Ofgem, an ongoing challenge by way of judicial review to the CMA's decision in relation to the RIIO2 control, and enforcement proceedings against energy suppliers in respect of smart metering obligations.

Natasha frequently advises Ofgem and regulated companies on various aspects of the UK energy regulatory scheme.

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Commercial

Natasha accepts instructions in all areas of commercial litigation. She has acted in a wide range of complex and high-value commercial disputes. She has particular expertise in commercial claims with a regulatory and/or administrative law angle.

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Sport

Natasha's sports law practise encompasses contract law, disciplinary matters, employment, tort law, data protection and competition claims.

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Public International Law

Natasha has a strong academic background in public international law. 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. 

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Private International Law

Natasha has worked on a number of matters with private international law aspects, including questions of jurisdiction, applicable law and limitation.

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Achievements

Education

LLB (Distinction) (University of Sydney); BCL (Distinction) (Oxon); MPhil, DPhil (Oxon)

Prizes and Scholarships

  • Atkin Scholar, The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn, 2017
  • Charterhouse European Bursary, University of Oxford/University of Leiden, 2014
  • Rhodes Scholar for New South Wales, Australia, 2009-2014
  • Scholarship for Outstanding Academic Achievement, University of Sydney, 2003-2007
  • Walter Reid Memorial Award for Academic Excellence, University of Sydney, 2006 and 2007
  • World Champion, 2007 Phillip C Jessup International Law Moot, Washington DC
  • Best Oralist, Australian National Rounds, 2007 Phillip C Jessup International Law Moot, High Court of Australia, Canberra

Publications

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 

Volunteering and pro bono

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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