Barrister | Human Rights Advocate
Meet the Founder
Layla Dean-Verity
Her Journey to AAI
Called to the English Bar in 2018 and a member of the Inner Temple, she has worked at the intersection of law, governance, and global development. Bringing nearly three decades of experience across the legal, humanitarian, and non-profit sectors.
Layla is trained in commercial civil mediation and international arbitration, has collaborated with governmental and institutional partners worldwide, and previously taught as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Westminster.
Before establishing AAI, Layla served as Founder and CEO of Basic Human Rights, leading humanitarian operations across conflict and disaster-affected regions including the Middle East, the Sahel, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and post-earthquake Haiti.
Her experiences shaped her belief in advocacy as both an art and a moral duty — a discipline rooted in clarity, integrity, and the defence of human dignity.
Today, she channels her global network of judges, barristers, and policymakers into empowering the next generation of advocates through AAI.
Balancing life between London and Cape Town, and as a mother and grandmother, she is deeply committed to guiding future lawyers with resilience, compassion, and a principled devotion to justice.
The Vision of AAI
A Word from the Founder | The Role of AI In Advocacy
“AI is reshaping how we research, prepare, and present cases, but its rise comes with a warning. Algorithms can carry hidden biases; machines can be steered for political ends.
What they cannot do is watch a witness breathe, feel the weight of a pause, or discern truth in the fragile space where evidence meets humanity. Advocates remain relevant because humans carry judgment, conscience, and moral instinct, qualities no system can imitate.”
At AAI, we teach our students how to navigate an AI-driven world without surrendering the essence of advocacy: the ability to see beyond data, to understand the lived reality behind the facts, and to uphold justice where technology may fail.
The challenge of the next generation is not to compete with machines, but to stand above them, to use AI with precision while ensuring it never replaces the principled human mind that justice depends on.”
Layla Dean-Verity
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