Alan Simmons

Education

  • LLB (Hons in Law and French)

  • LLM (International Human Rights Law

  • RSA Certificate in teaching English as a foreign language (CTEFLA)

  • Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales

I studied law at Leicester University, where I gained my LLB, and then at Strasbourg University and the European University Institute in Florence and obtained my LLM at the University of Essex.

Professional Experience

I trained to become a solicitor at the international City law firm, now Linklaters, and then practised as a commercial solicitor for some years at two other London firms in the areas of corporate law, construction law, employment law, intellectual property, advertising and media law.

Since 1996, I have had extensive experience in delivering legal and business skills and language training to lawyers, other professionals and business people all over the world and in particular contract drafting and legal writing.

Additionally, I’ve have developed a specialty in human rights law and have represented individuals before the European Court of Human Rights. Moreover, I’ve trained Central and Eastern European lawyers and judges on international human rights law and co-authored several publications in this area.

I am currently a consultant at the London firm of solicitors Cassadys where I practise in the fields of intellectual property, commercial contracts, commercial litigation, business immigration and licensing law.

Languages

My greatest “hobby” both pleasure and work is learning languages. I am currently fluent in French and Portuguese and have good written and spoken Spanish, Italian and Albanian. I have done legal translations from French, Spanish and Portuguese. I also have conversational Arabic, German, Japanese, Croatian, Somali, Hindi, Russian, Persian, Dutch, Finnish, Turkish, Norwegian and Romanian.  I have a passion for different writing systems in languages and have learned to read and write Hindi, Nepalese, Georgian, Armenian, Persian, Japanese and Arabic.

Publications

2008
“The European Court”, co-authored with Luke Clements in Malcolm Langford ed. “Socio-Economic Rights Jurisprudence: Emerging Trends in International and Comparative Law” (Cambridge University Press). 

2006
“Mixed War Crimes Tribunals in Kosovo” (co-authored with Helene Unac) in the book "Defence in International Proceedings” (General Editor – Michael Bohlander) (Transactional Publishers Inc) 

2004
Turkish language handbook for Turkish lawyers wishing to bring cases to the European Court of Human Rights (translated into Turkish by Defne Orhun) 

2004
The Protection of Detained Persons Under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights in Kosovo Legal Studies Vol 5, 2004/1 

1999
European Human Rights: Taking a case under the Convention co-authored with Luke Clements and Nuala Mole

1993
Article on French National law in the Journal of Immigration and Nationality Law