Professor Brandon-Smith serves as Legislative Director for Militarism and Human Rights at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), where she develops recommendations and advocates for U.S. national security policies that are consistent with human rights and the rule of law. She specializes in the domestic and international legal frameworks governing the use of force and related national security issues, including constitutional war powers, targeted killing, and the detention and treatment of detainees. Professor Brandon-Smith has worked to reform key post-9/11 counterterrorism policies, including the authorizations for use of military force (AUMFs), indefinite detention and the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, and to obtain increased transparency for the legal and policy frameworks governing the use of force and the civilian casualties caused by U.S. counterterrorism strikes. Professor Brandon-Smith holds an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law School, where she graduated with distinction and was co-chair of Georgetown Law’s Human Rights Action – Amnesty International LL.M. committee. Prior to joining FCNL, Professor Brandon-Smith served as Advocacy Counsel for National Security at Human Rights First, taught at the University of New South Wales Law School and Macquarie University Law School, and worked at the law firm Ashurst in Sydney, Australia. Professor Brandon-Smith has a B.A. in Politics and International Relations, an LL.B., and an LL.M. from the University of New South Wales.
