The people behind the work.

Ui-young Suh is Founder & Co-Chair of Climate Justice Counsel. A lawyer admitted in California and South Korea, he previously served as a Legal Officer at the United Nations Secretariat and held positions in the South Korean government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

His work focuses on translating international climate obligations into enforceable domestic remedies, with an initial focus on Pacific Island communities facing sea-level rise, displacement, property loss, and impacts on customary and cultural rights. He has published peer-reviewed scholarship in international law and lectured at universities including LMU Munich. He holds a J.D. from Seoul National University Law School and an LL.B. from Korea University.

Dr. Vanesa Menéndez Montero is Co-Chair of Climate Justice Counsel and a Spanish lawyer, researcher, and lecturer specializing in international and European law. She earned her PhD in Public International Law at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Her work examines the protection of cultural heritage at the intersection of human rights, environmental law, and international criminal law, and she has conducted research in Cambridge, Rome, Nairobi, and Berlin.

Her recent scholarship focuses on sea-level rise, deterritorialized statehood, and the cultural rights of communities in Small Island Developing States, including questions of Indigenous rights, cultural self-determination, and the protection of tangible and intangible heritage. She also provides pro bono legal counselling to NGOs and artists across Europe and Africa.

Seunghwan ("Ken") Nam is Co-Chair and Treasurer of Climate Justice Counsel, a J.D. candidate at the University of Richmond School of Law, and a former Korean Foreign Service Officer. He served in Seoul, Beirut, and Anchorage, working on consular affairs, regulatory matters, crisis response, and cross-border coordination. During the 2020 Beirut blast and ensuing economic crisis, he provided emergency consular assistance to more than 200 Korean nationals.

His experience spans treaty interpretation, immigration and regulatory analysis, policy drafting, and organizational operations. At Climate Justice Counsel, he manages budgets and finances and helps develop relationships with philanthropic foundations.