Key Personnel
Janet E. Lord
Janet Lord is a Senior Partner with BlueLaw International LLP and an international lawyer with more than 15 years of professional experience in international development and democracy and governance programming in developing, transitioning, and post-conflict countries. She is an internationally recognized expert in international disability rights law, policy and programming and her contributions to this new field are extensively set forth in a wide array of scholarly, as well as practitioner-oriented publications. She has designed, managed, and implemented projects addressing the implementation of human rights law and policy in more than 25 countries worldwide, including most recently in Russia, Hungary, Sierra Leone, Zambia, South Korea, Yemen and Iraq. She has worked with a variety of international organizations, including the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Disability Programme, UNDP, USAID, the EU, the World Bank, Disabled Peoples’ International, Handicap International France, Landmine Survivors Network, the Center for International Rehabilitation, and the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES). She is a skilled facilitator, trainer, and speaker, and has taught courses in international law, international human rights law, and human rights, disability and conflict at the University of Edinburgh, the University of Maryland School of Law, American University, and the University of Baltimore School of Law. She holds an LL.B. and an LL.M. in law from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland), an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from the George Washington University Law School and a B.A. in History from Kenyon College.
Sudhir Mahara
Sudhir Mahara is a Senior Partner with BlueLaw International LLP with more than 15 years of experience spanning the globe in UN peacekeeping training, conflict analysis and response, security sector reforms, and international development – including three years as a private sector consultant and two years research and analysis in a U.S. think tank setting. He has significant field experience in South Asia and the Middle East and speaks several South Asian languages. Mr. Mahara has a proven ability to develop and execute creative plans, programs and projects by integrating diverse international personnel and resources into a coherent and unified team. A former Nepalese Gurkha officer, he served as Operations Officer at the U.N. multinational force's headquarters during the 1996 war in Lebanon. He holds an undergraduate degree from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in London, a M.A. in Political Science from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, and an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Currently, Mr. Mahara is a fellow with the Stimson Center and Center for National Security Law at the University of Virginia School of Law.
Greg Gisvold
Greg Gisvold is a Partner with BlueLaw International LLP and a senior democracy and rule of law specialist highly experienced with field and home office management of governance, rule of law, and anti-corruption programs. Prior to joining BLI, he led the democracy and governance practice for Chemonics International where he was responsible for the design and oversight of court administration, judicial reform, anti-corruption, and public administration reform programs. He has served as Technical Advisor for the Rule of Law and the Building Recovery through Democratic Governance (BRDG) IQC’s, where he oversaw large consortia and the successful preparation of multiple proposals and projects. He has led Rule of Law and Security Sector reform programs in West Bank and Gaza as interim chief of party. He has served as county director for ABA’s programs in Kosovo and Montenegro, including co-director of its War Crimes Documentation Project, which provided unique statistical evidence to the ICTY prosecution of Slobodon Milosevic. Before moving full time into international development work, Mr. Gisvold served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota, worked in private law practice, and was on the staff of Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. He holds a B.A. from Amherst College and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School. His published books and articles address human rights and legal reform issues in post-conflict societies.
Jeffrey Walker
Jeffrey Walker - Of Counsel, Public International Law, Humanitarian Law and Policy, Justice Reform, Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction. Jeffrey Walker is a consultant and attorney with more than 20 years experience in peacekeeping and post conflict legal development, international and comparative law, training systems development, aviation law and operations, air command and control, and national security law and policy within both the Department of Defense and NATO. Major strengths include ability to develop workable solutions under intense time constraints, providing thorough and sound advice to decision-makers at the highest levels, producing insightful written and oral opinions on short timelines, and unequaled ability to communicate complex concepts in a manner easily understandable to non-experts. A strong proven leader, advisor, and scholar who combines broad experience in post conflict transitional development, military, legal, and academic circles with a truly interdisciplinary approach to problem solving.