“Susi Bascon is a pioneering force in human rights and legal empowerment, building practical pathways to justice for communities facing corporate harm, environmental degradation and systemic inequality. Through collaborative leadership and sustained global engagement, she has strengthened legal resilience where it is needed most, ensuring that grassroots voices are supported by credible, effective access to remedy.”

Fantastic Lawyers® Editorial, 2026

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Susi Bascon is a UK-based human rights and legal empowerment leader, best known as the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Roots2Justice and a Trustee of the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk. With a career spanning more than two decades in international protection and capacity-building for lawyers, activists, and grassroots communities, Susi is recognised for building practical pathways to justice where power imbalances, corporate harm, and environmental degradation place communities at risk.

What She Does

Susi’s work sits at the intersection of human rights protection, legal resilience, and community-led access to remedy. Through Roots2Justice, she supports initiatives that strengthen the legal capacity of grassroots groups impacted by corporate abuse, environmental harm, and climate-related injustice. Her approach is collaborative and systems-focused—bringing together civil society, pro bono legal expertise, and practical training tools that communities can use in real-world contexts.

Experience & Impact

Susi began her professional journey in Madrid, initially working as a financial advisor, before moving into development and human rights work. After completing postgraduate study, she joined Peace Brigades International (PBI) – UK Section, including fieldwork in Mexico as a human rights officer supporting protection and capacity-building for lawyers and other rights defenders.

Over more than 25 years in leadership roles at PBI UK, Susi helped raise over £5 million from a diverse donor portfolio, enabling protection programmes and capacity-building initiatives supporting hundreds of at-risk activists and communities across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

In 2010, Susi co-founded (with the late Sir Henry Brooke CMG) the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk, a pro bono initiative that mobilises UK legal expertise to support lawyers and legal systems under pressure. She has led 100+ legal interventions and field delegations supporting local partners across multiple jurisdictions.

In 2018, she led the nomination of the global community of Human Rights Defenders for the Nobel Peace Prize in collaboration with former UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, Michel Forst. She later served as a senior consultant to UNDP on an online Access to Remedy toolkit, and as a senior advisor to the Legal Empowerment Fund (Fund for Global Human Rights), supporting core funding for grassroots justice work.

Creative Practice

Alongside her legal empowerment work, Susi is an abstract painter and has developed a portfolio of 300+ artworks, exhibiting in London and Madrid through her studio practice.

Education

• MSc, Development Studies – Southbank University, London
• MBA – Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Highlights

• Co-Founder & CEO, Roots2Justice
• Trustee, Alliance for Lawyers at Risk
• 25+ years in human rights protection, capacity-building, and legal empowerment
• Raised £5M+ to support protection programmes across Latin America, Africa, and Asia
• Led 100+ pro bono legal interventions and international field delegations
• UNDP senior consultant on access-to-remedy capacity tools

Connect

• Roots2Justice: roots2justice.org
• Alliance for Lawyers at Risk: lawyersatrisk.org
• Access to Remedy Toolkit: routes2remedy.com
• Art Studio: susibascon-studio.co.uk

*While not a lawyer, Susi has provided a significant contribution to the legal sector