Laila El Baradei will join the University of Sussex next March as General Counsel and Director of Governance and Compliance.

Laila is currently General Counsel at Plan International where she has worked for the last nine years. Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls with a presence in over 75 countries.

Laila qualified as a lawyer in both England & Wales and New York and has seven years’ private practice experience in the City of London and over nine years of in-house experience advising across a wide range of practice areas.

Chief Operating Officer Tim Westlake said: “I am delighted that Laila will be joining Sussex as our new General Counsel. She will bring a wealth of leadership experience and expert knowledge from different sectors to our legal and governance services, supporting the University to ensure that we continue to comply with a broad range of legal, regulatory, and statutory requirements. She will be a member of both the University Executive Group and the Professional Services Leadership Team.”

Laila said: “I am really passionate about the values and ethos of the University of Sussex and it is a great privilege to join such an esteemed institution. I am looking forward to using and bringing the skills and experience I have gained during my career and most recently, on the Audit Committee and the Human Resources Committee at the University of Cambridge as governance apprentice, to my new role and helping to support the university going forward.”

Geraldine Ismail was appointed to the role of Interim Head of Legal Services at the end of August, following the departure of Bridget Edminson to Imperial College, as General Counsel.

Emma Potts will continue in her role as Interim Deputy Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the Governance team.

Geraldine and Emma will continue in these roles until Laila joins the University in March 2023.

Tim added: “Geraldine and Emma have done a fantastic job of provided legal and governance leadership and I am pleased they will continue in post until Laila joins us next year.”