Lea Christopher is an Australian-qualified lawyer and Associate at Fietta LLP.
Lea advises on law of the sea and international investment law matters. She also has experience working on cross-jurisdictional and complex disputes for corporate clients and the UK and Australian governments, including in proceedings before English and Australian courts.
Recent highlights of Lea’s practice include acting for an investor in an UNCITRAL investment treaty arbitration against a Gulf State and advising on the impact of the European Court of Justice ruling in Slovak Republic v Achmea B.V on intra-EU investment treaty arbitration. She has also recently represented a defendant in multi-party competition litigation following on from an investigation by the European Commission into an alleged air cargo cartel, as well as a FTSE listed company on an investigation by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office and international prosecuting authorities into potential bribery and corruption offences.
Her recent advisory experience includes advising two Asian States on maritime boundary delimitation and law of the sea issues and advising the national oil company of an Asian State in connection with a constitutional dispute concerning the exploitation of the natural resources of its continental shelf.
Additionally, Lea has prepared and delivered training courses to Australian federal government clients and private companies on topics ranging from good administrative decision-making to the implementation of anti-bribery and corruption compliance programmes. Lea has also advised on business and human rights issues, including in relation to the international agreement between global brands and trade unions created in response to the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse. Her pro bono matters include a case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Lea holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws (First Class) from the University of Adelaide and a Master of Laws, International Law (First Class), from the University of Cambridge.
Prior to joining Fietta, Lea worked at a UK “magic circle” firm, a leading Australian law firm, and as the Senior Associate to the Principal Judge of the Commercial Court in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Lea’s full curriculum vitae is available here.