Natalie regularly advises on civil claims against the police, local authorities and other public bodies. As a pupil she has regularly represented clients before the County Court and advised on various claims concerning allegations of malicious prosecution, unlawful arrest, false imprisonment and assault.

Natalie has acted in pre-inquest review hearings and represents families in coronial proceedings. Natalie has a particular interest in cases arising from contact with the police and failures in other custodial settings. 

Natalie regularly accepts instructions in criminal and extradition proceedings and has appeared before the Magistrates Court, Youth Court and Crown Court as well as in Parole Review hearings. She is particularly interested in developing her practice in sanctions, financial crime and extradition. 

Natalie has extensive experience working in international human rights. She also spent time as a Visiting Professional in the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court deepening her knowledge of international criminal law and the Rome Statute. 

In particular, Natalie has experience in bringing cases before the European Court of Human Rights and UN Special Procedures, including the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Her work includes drafting a third-party intervention to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of REDRESS in Theron v France regarding the legality of the use of kinetic impact projectiles against protesters.

Natalie also led REDRESS’ programmes on financial sanctions as an accountability tool against perpetrators of human rights abuses and serious corruption. In this role, she co-led a global coalition of over 300 NGOs working toward accountability of perpetrators, provided training in evidence gathering and case development to groups around the world and spearheaded various policy initiatives aimed at improving the use of sanctions in human rights contexts. She has also given evidence on the impact of sanctions before the European Parliament Sub-Committee on Human Rights and regularly briefed Parliamentarians as well as officials at the UK FCDO and Home Office and US State Department and US Treasury. 

During pupillage, Natalie assisted Adam Wagner KC in preparing a submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture regarding hostage taking.

• “Targeted Sanctions as Pathway to Accountability: An Active Role for Civil Society?” Journal of International Criminal Justice 22(2), Tomas Hamilton, Natalie Lucas, Alex Prezanti, Megan Smith, Amanda Strayer
• “Magnitsky Sanctions at Five Years”
• “Evaluating Targeted Sanctions: A flexible framework for impact analysis”