Michele Law
Founder, Cerno Solutions
Michele Law is a former diplomat and human rights adviser. In the United Nations Michele was based in Baghdad, Iraq, as legal counsel and advisor to the Iraqi government on constitution making, including providing legal and political advice on the Human Rights Chapter and establishment of an Independent Human Rights Commission. In Kabul, Afghanistan, she advised the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Afghanistan on its rule of law programme. In the UK Department for International Development (DFID), Michele was a conflict adviser focussed on Security Sector Reform (HMG SSR Lead) and Violence Against Women and Girls. She was responsible for policy and programming advisory services up to UK Ministers and across DFID’s global portfolio. Michele held the role of Deputy Director and Legal Advisor in the Office of the Commonwealth Secretary General, where she also assisted in the mediation of various political conflicts including in Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and in the Fiji Islands. Michele began her career as a New Zealand trade negotiator (WTO/APEC) and Private Secretary to the NZ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
In 2016 Michele established Cerno Solutions Limited with Paul Garlick QC, a leading UK Barrister in bribery and corruption, because they could see that issues of human rights and modern slavery were becoming an international and HMG policy priority, and they wanted to use their skills to assist business meet these challenges. Paul brings the read-across with bribery and corruption, while Michele brings an HMG developmental perspective of how it wants businesses to address the impact they are having on human rights and modern slavery. Cerno works alongside corporate legal counsel, by providing the “back-office” guidance you need to properly address issues of human rights and modern slavery, e.g. strategy, risk assessments, setting a baseline, adaptive programming, monitoring and evaluation, training and communication of good stories/compliance reporting. We take a developmental approach which we know is what the regulator wants to see, as it is the best method of affecting greatest change by building your internal capacity.
As a mediator and access to justice specialist, Michele also brings significant experience to assist companies implement Pillar III of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: access to remedy. Remedies is not a requirement of the MSA, but is a category that the new Corporate Human Rights Benchmark ranks.
In addition to her role as Director of Cerno, Michele currently sits on the following advisory panels/International Call-Down Rosters: UNDP Rule of Law Expert (Access to Justice/Modern Slavery); HMG Stabilisation Unit Deployable Civilian List (Conflict/Modern Slavery), and the International Security Sector Advisory Team (Justice/Security/Modern Slavery). Michele also co-chairs the Slavefreetrade.org certification in supply chains working group.