Mark Stephens

Mark Stephens is an international lawyer specialising in media freedom, human rights, and cross‑border disputes. He is widely known for defending journalists, publishers, whistleblowers, and artists when law is weaponised to silence dissent, and is often brought in at moments when truth‑telling collides with political, corporate, or state power.

In recent years, his work has increasingly focused on transnational repression – advising individuals targeted across borders through abusive litigation, surveillance, and coercive state tactics – and on getting people out of danger, including emergency relocation and protection and extraction strategies for those at immediate risk because of their speech or reporting. Stephens is co‑chair of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and a past president of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association. He litigates globally, appears before international courts and tribunals, and is a prominent public advocate for legal systems that protect truth‑tellers rather than punish them.