Meet the Team

Sam Bakstad is senior dispute resolution counsel at bp in London where she manages complex and high value disputes in multiple jurisdictions.  Prior to joining bp 10 years ago, Sam was a senior associate in the international disputes practice at Vinson & Elkins working principally on energy and large infrastructure disputes. Sam is passionate about D&I matters; she acted as the co-chair of the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge (a global initiative with more than 4000 signatories which aims to improve the profile and representation of women in international arbitration and to increase the appointment of women on arbitral tribunals on an equal opportunity basis) for 2 years, founded a sub-committee of specialist in-house dispute resolution lawyers to improve the adoption of the Pledge’s aims within a corporate environment and was instrumental in drafting a set of guidelines for implementation of the Pledge which are aimed at providing corporate signatories with a list of concrete steps to assist those wishing to implement the Pledge within their organisation; a set of ‘best practice’ principles. Sam joined the Legal Services Provider Working Group of the GCD&I initiative 1 year ago and is committed to promoting D&I within the legal community through the GCD&I framework

Nichola is Associate General Counsel for Commercial Legal Services within Centrica plc, supporting in complex, strategic, high value/high risk negotiations group wide. Nichola moved in-house 9 years ago following a 10 year stint in private practice as a M&A lawyer which is where she first became aware of the lack of D&I recognition and awareness.

Nichola feels strongly about D&I and is a committee member for Centrica’s LRECS team and a chapter leader for the Centrica Women’s Network.

Clair is a Senior Patent Attorney at Reckitt, UK. She has a special interest in embedding DE&I within the Intellectual Property sphere.  Clair is a member of the IP Inclusive Management Board and the UK Chartered Institute of Patent Attorney’s DE&I committee

Currently in the role of Group Senior Corporate Counsel – ESG, working in the Group Legal department at AXA, Hannah is a dual qualified corporate finance and regulatory affairs lawyer with 16+ years of experience (both private practice and in-house, in Singapore, Hong Kong and Paris). In her current role, she is fully dedicated to sustainability topics with a focus on the Group’s compliance with the expanding scope of ESG regulation and on contributing, from a legal perspective to the successful implementation of transversal Group ESG projects and climate strategies. Aligned with her chosen field of expertise, Hannah is passionate about increasing awareness on social mobility and gender equality topics, notably in the legal sector, as well as mentoring junior lawyers.

Kamya is a member of the Global Antitrust Team at Nestlé in Vevey, Switzerland. She advises on all aspects of antitrust and competition laws for the Nestlé Group. Prior to Nestlé, Kamya worked with law firms in India and the UK. She is passionate about embedding DE&I in the culture of an organisation and is a member of the DE&I working group within Nestlé Legal & Compliance focusing on driving internal and external change.

Lorna is a dual qualified corporate / commercial lawyer (Scots law and California law) with over 15 years of experience in the UK and US. Lorna started her career at Maclay Murray & Spens (now Dentons) in Scotland before relocating to California where she spent nearly 9 years as a corporate / M&A lawyer with Gibson Dunn in Palo Alto. Lorna returned home to Scotland a few years ago, leaving behind endless sunshine to be closer to family. Lorna made the move in-house and now works at Edrington in a Head of Legal role. Edrington is a premium spirits company with a portfolio of luxury brands, including The Macallan

Sandeep Janardhan currently holds the position of ‘Legal & Compliance Counsel’ at Volvo Group Legal & Compliance, where he specializes in compliance-related matters. With over 18 years of professional experience in compliance, he is widely recognized for his leadership and expertise in business legal management. Previously, he served as a Senior Specialist – Legal at Toyota Group Legal & Compliance. Two years ago, he joined the Legal Services Provider Working Group of the GCD&I initiative, demonstrating a strong commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion within the legal sphere. He is also a global member who is involved in the DE&I working group within Volvo Group Legal & Compliance, leading various initiatives related to DE&I.

Sherena is an aspiring Lawyer and leader, having completed Centrica’s Business Leadership Graduate Scheme, as an award-winning social entrepreneur and as an established Diversity and Inclusion champion and advocate. Currently, she is a Trainee Solicitor within Centrica Energy’s Investment Projects team undertaking the Solicitors Qualifying Exam as the first Graduate Solicitor Apprentice within the organisation.

Passionate about Inclusion and innovative approaches, she is also leading the conversations for Diversity and Inclusion within Centrica across the Legal team and Colleague network VOICE, Centrica’s ethnicity network. The impact of her quest for inclusivity has extended to the wider energy industry and within the Legal Profession. In recognition, Sherena has been listed within the ‘HERoes 100 Women Future Leaders List’ and ‘EMpower Top 100 Future Leaders list’ as supported by Yahoo Finance, within Mindr’s ’30 Women of Influence list’ and has been featured as best practice for her work advocating wellbeing and empowering accessibility to the energy industry, including as a finalist in two categories at the Young Energy Professional Awards for ‘Diversity & Inclusion’ and listed as a ‘Rising Star’. Most recently, Sherena was listed as a winner of the WeAreTheCity’s Energy & Utilities ‘Rising Star Award’.

Smriti is qualified in New York, England & Wales and India as lawyer with vast experience in the mining, natural resources and energy sectors. She currently works in the Group Legal team at Anglo American, based in Singapore and advises the Marketing business on a range of corporate, commercial and commodity trading issues. Smriti is a passionate supporter of DEI both within the mining and the legal communities.

Sonja serves as Senior Counsel at CSL, a global biotechnology company, where she supports manufacturing and business operations. Sonja is a seasoned business attorney with extensive experience both in private practice and in-house. She has been actively engaged in DE&I initiatives throughout her career. Sonja holds law degrees from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland and the University of California, Berkeley, USA. She is currently based