Global governance is under pressure from expanding supply chains, shifting geopolitics, and growing scrutiny of human rights due diligence and compliance, exposing gaps in corporate governance, weak enforcement in fragile states, and the need to align commercial interests with ethical and responsible foreign policy. This environment demands senior advisers who combine technical expertise with principled, outcomes-focused leadership.

Ruby Sandhu is a Senior International Lawyer and strategic adviser with over 30 years’ experience in business and human rights, sustainability, responsible governance, and crisis management, working with governments, multinational corporations, investors, and global NGOs on credible, implementable reforms. Her practice spans multiple regions and legal systems, engaging with institutions and communities in diverse political and regulatory contexts, particularly in fragile and post-conflict settings.

Ruby began her international work with the Civic Education Project in Eastern Europe, organised by Cambridge and Yale Universities, teaching EU and international human rights law. She then returned to the UK to train and work in corporate commercial law at leading City firms, focusing on major PFI and M&A transactions for institutions and corporates, and  building an understanding of complex deal structures and risk allocation that she now applies to public policy and ESG mandates.

She subsequently worked with international defence teams on high-profile cases, including the Mikhail Khodorkovsky case, prison conditions research with the Max Planck Institute, and a White Paper on Singapore’s civil and political rights, informing a distinctive perspective on how law, governance, and power interact in contested environments.

Ruby holds an LL.M in International Law and later completed an MSc., in Sustainability and Responsible Business, alongside professional accreditation as a mediator, which together established a foundation for a genuinely multidisciplinary practice. These strands shaped her shift away from narrowly prescriptive applications of law toward solution-oriented, cross-disciplinary engagement, particularly in complex political and developmental settings with sustainability as a focus.

Multidisciplinary Practice and Pedagogy

Ruby’s defining strength lies in her ability to operate in high-pressure, complex environments using a multidisciplinary lens that integrates law, sustainability, governance, and narrative strategy.

Her work in mediation, education, and access-to-justice and sustainability initiatives reflects a commitment to strengthening legal and governance ecosystems from the ground up, while aligning institutional policy, accountability, and purpose in ways that build public trust.

Ruby’s approach is to listen carefully, step into complexity, and resist applying prescriptive templates, recognising that in a globalised world marked by profound structural shifts, purely legalistic or “cookie-cutter” responses are rarely fit for purpose.

She argues that neither law nor AI can be practised as a mechanical exercise; both must be grounded in contextual understanding, humility, and a readiness to co-create solutions with affected stakeholders.

After her engagement with Eritrea, Ruby presented classes at universities emphasising the importance for law students of looking beyond doctrinal analysis and applications to the broader political, social, economic, and technological context. She has stressed that the practice of law, and now the responsible use of AI, must incorporate interdisciplinary and context-specific approaches if it is to remain relevant, ethical, and future-ready.

Ruby has also taught on postgraduate courses at the University of Cambridge, using role-play to explore engagement between governments, NGOs, multinational companies, and communities, and to cultivate the empathy required to move beyond rigid, prescriptive approaches to problem-solving. Ruby is a Fellow of the Civil Mediation Council (FCMC), Chair of the Society of Mediators (MSoM), where she is a trustee, faculty member and senior practitioner

Leadership in Business and Human Rights

Ruby’s expertise lies at the intersection of international law, sustainability, risk management, and corporate social responsibility. She advises governments, corporates, and civil-society organisations on high-risk issues where legal compliance, political dynamics, and reputational narratives intersect, consistently underscoring ethics-driven governance and integration of business and human rights principles into corporate strategy and national policy.

She was selected to the Law Society’s Business and Human Rights Working Group on the education and implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, contributing to Practice Notes issued for the solicitors’ profession in April 2014. Ruby also serves on a working group focused on the drafting of a business and human rights treaty aligned with the UNGPs.

Eritrea: Nation-building, Judiciary, and Responsible Investment

Ruby’s engagement in Eritrea earned her formal recognition from the Government for diplomatic, constructive, and persistent contributions in a highly sensitive regional context. She helped address misinformation surrounding the Eritrea–Ethiopia Boundary Commission decision and promoted a holistic, united approach among international stakeholders. She authored the paper “Eritrea through the lens of Nation Building, Business Ethics and Sustainability,” presented at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, and contributed to a chapter on The World Guide to Sustainable Enterprise, edited by Dr Wayne Visser.

She initiated and scheduled judicial training programmes in partnership with the Slynn Foundation and the late Sir Peter Cresswell, supporting capacity-building initiatives within Eritrea’s judiciary.

Ruby undertook missions with the ILO and key ministries, including facilitating Eritrea’s signature of the ILO Convention C182 Worst Forms of Child Labour and the Embassy of Eritrea’s engagement with interested multinational companies seeking to invest in Eritrea, facilitating dialogue on responsible enterprise, labour standards, and long-term development. She has advised investors on sanctions and on managing political and legal risk in Eritrea, including in the resource extractive sector.

In this and other fragile contexts, Ruby’s engagement has contributed to more constructive dialogue between governments and international organisations and to reframing polarised issues in ways that reduce legal and diplomatic risk while supporting longer-term stability. Her work exemplifies how principled pragmatic advisory support can align nation-building, responsible investment and human rights safeguards.

ETHICAL VEGANISM, INNOVATION AND SHEVEGA.com

Ruby’s legal philosophy draws on her nearly 20 years as an ethical vegan, which has influenced her advocacy and business practice. Having travelled widely, she is convinced that a shift away from meat and towards a plant-based way of living, will significantly reduce harm not only to all sentient animals, the environment, but also to human health.

She has applied this perspective to animal-rights work and to the design and launch of SHEVEGA.com and her SHEVEGA podcast, a venture in scientifically validated, plant-based nutrition for pets that combines regulatory due diligence with a focus on animal welfare and sustainable innovation.

As a member of the Vegan Society and other advocacy organisations, she supports plant-based products, sustainability, and governance across emerging ethical sectors, demonstrating how ethical commitments, supported by law and science can influence market behaviour and reduce harm to animals and the environment.

Transitional Justice in South Sudan

Ruby has held an advisory role with South Sudan’s Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. Her portfolio included high-level communications and engagement with UN entities and international partners, assisting the country in responding to critical reports and preparing submissions aimed at advancing transitional justice. She has contributed to work, challenging inaccurate narratives, investigative reports, including legal reports; and supporting South Sudan’s constructive engagement with the international community during its post-conflict transition. Her approach combines legal analysis with narrative strategy, recognising that how a state tells its story affects investment, peace-building, and institutional trust.

Law-reform, Working Groups, and Public Engagement

Ruby has written and spoken extensively on business and human rights, corporate responsibility, ethics in the legal profession, and the evolving role of lawyers in the twenty-first century. Her writings include a column on the debilitating context for corporate citizenship later published by the International Bar Association, a report on business ethics and sustainability for the Solicitors’ International Human Rights Group,  an article for the Law Society’s newsletter on lawyers and the responsibility to respect human rights, and contributions to business and human rights due diligence.

She has appeared at forums including the Law Society’s International Human Rights Conference, the TBLI Conference on ethics in the legal profession, A4ID events at White & Case LLP on Business and Human Rights, and a high-net-worth conference, and the Emerge Conference at the Saïd Business School. Ruby has delivered interactive lectures on twenty-first-century lawyering at the University of Westminster and spoken at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and Ashridge Business School on Sustainability, Human Rights, and the Law.

Pro Bono Service and Mediation

An advocate for access to justice, Ruby has led and supported pro bono initiatives, including research for the Royal Courts of Justice Free Mediation Service, legal education, and capacity-building for emerging practitioners. As a long-serving trustee, trainer, and assessor at a leading mediation institution in the UK, and through her leadership as Chair of the Society of Mediators.

Professional Ethos, Worldview, and Future Ventures

Ruby’s formative years were spent in India with her grandparents, whose lives combined charitable work with a deep commitment to community and legacy. This environment gave her an early, lived understanding of the human condition and of what truly matters, and it continues to inform her sense of proportion when working in crisis- and conflict-affected settings.

She is particularly committed to mentoring women, conscious that many remain confined to supportive instead of leadership roles within systems they did not co-create. For her, the starting point is education fit for the twenty-first century, grounded in the idea that all life should be able to flourish on this “pale blue dot.”

Drawing on her experience in law, sustainability, mediation, and her perspective as a woman practitioner and entrepreneur, Ruby focuses on building and advising sustainable businesses that embed ethical governance, environmental stewardship, and compassionate design. Through her work in fragile and transitioning states, her teaching, and advocacy for ethical, sustainable business models and plant-based living, she practises a form of legal and strategic leadership that is grounded, interdisciplinary, and responsive to the systemic challenges of the twenty-first century.