Ms. Michaela Barbara Eddinia Swallow is a highly regarded Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of Sierra Leone, possessing extensive expertise across various legal domains, including International Business and Commercial Law, Petroleum and Energy Law, Banking Law, Corporate Governance, and Financial Services.

Prior to taking up her appointment in New York, Ms. Swallow served as the Senior Legal Counsel for the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone, the regulatory body overseeing upstream oil and gas activities in the nation, providing critical advice on legal compliance and regulatory matters, as well as expert opinions on contracts and legislative developments in Sierra Leone’s oil and gas industry.

She has served as President of the Sierra Leone Bar Association and also as an elected member of the General Legal Council, the regulatory authority of the legal profession in Sierra Leone, where she fulfilled a three-year term. In 2022 she was appointed by H.E. Dr. Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, as a Member of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, a constitutionally mandated body that advises the Chief Justice in administrative duties and appoints Judicial and Legal Officers.

On a continental scale, Ms. Swallow serves as an elected Governing Council Member of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) and as the Country Representative for Sierra Leone at the International Bar Association (IBA). She is the former Chairperson of the West African Bar Association and held the Vice Chair position on the Organizing Committee for the 2021 African Bar Association Conference in Niamey, Niger.

Ms. Swallow holds a Bachelor of Laws with Honours (LLB) from the University of Sierra Leone, a Barrister at Law (B.L) from the Sierra Leone Law School, a Diploma in Mass Communications majoring in Public Relations, and a Master of Laws (LLM) with Distinction in International Commercial and Business Law from the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom.