About

Perseus Strategies is an international law firm that works in the public interest and is renowned for tackling some of the toughest global challenges. We work closely with world leaders and engage in advocacy on behalf of our clients in Washington, Geneva, and Brussels, as well as with multilateral organizations. We provide expert counsel both in the development of public policy and on individual cases, combining legal expertise with strategic political and public relations advocacy to achieve transformative outcomes.

Global Reach of Perseus Strategies

* These are countries that Managing Director Jared Genser has worked in both through Perseus Strategies and earlier in his career.

Approach

Perseus Strategies leverages international law, political advocacy, and media engagement to deliver unmatched impact for a wide variety of clients, including multilateral organizations, governments, companies, non-governmental organizations, and individuals:

International Law

As experts in international law, we represent clients before national, international, and regional bodies and mechanisms, including the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures, UN Treaty Bodies, INTERPOL, U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), European Court of Human Rights, and the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, among others. We provide advice to clients to assist them in complying with U.S. and international law in how they conduct their activities around the world. And we research, draft, and publish reports applying international law to thematic, country, or specific case situations.

Political Advocacy

We develop and execute political advocacy strategies aimed at achieving our clients’ goals. This work involves activities such as organizing advocacy trips to key capitals, contacting senior officials in multilateral organizations and national governments, drafting and advocating for the adoption of resolutions or legislation, engaging in stakeholder consultations on emerging soft law standards, and building coalitions to enhance the impact of advocacy activities.

Media Engagement

We have more than two decades of experience developing targeted media and public relations campaigns to achieve a wide array of purposes. We have deep relationships with journalists who care about human rights and international affairs. And we regularly engage media with press releases, pitching interviews, publishing op-eds in major newspapers, and holding press conferences.

Juan Sebastian Reunited w Family - Airport

Former U.S. Hostages in Iran, Siamak Namazi (and brother Babak) and Baquer Namazi (and wife Effie), soon after being brought home, September 2023

Dedication to Pro Bono (Unpaid) Work

We are dedicated to championing human rights and dignity for all, regardless of an individual’s financial means. We recognize that not everyone can afford legal fees, but that many such cases are highly compelling. This is why our firm spends one-third of its time on pro bono work, tirelessly advocating for those who need it most. Given limited resources, we focus our pro bono work on cases and causes where our efforts can have a wider impact on humanity. Our pro bono clients frequently include internationally-acclaimed political prisoners. Through our work, we aim to uphold the fundamental values of dignity, equality, and justice for all.

Testimonials

Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu

Working on behalf of both individuals and the oppressed peoples of entire nations, and engaging in paid legal work, pro bono work, teaching, and writing, the breadth and depth of Jared’s professional activities is truly exceptional . . . Jared is a world-renowned international human rights lawyer . . . Coming out of an experience he had as a law student freeing a British national who had been sentenced to 17 years in solitary confinement in a Burmese prison for handing out pro-democracy leaflets, Jared founded Freedom Now [in 2001. It is] a NGO and non-partisan organization, which frees prisoners of conscience around the world through focused legal, political, and public relations advocacy efforts. In the process, he built the board of directors, secured the original funding for the organization, hired its first executive director, and recruited President Václav Havel and I to serve as honorary co-chairs of Freedom Now.

—Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1984)

The Honorable Václav Havel

In sum, I am talking about a lawyer who in the cause of international human rights has achieved important, even groundbreaking things, and intends to achieve more. Jared tirelessly uses his fine moral compass, his leadership and organizational skills, and his detailed, nuanced mastery of human rights advocacy to tackle some of the gravest human rights violations in the world. He has won freedom for [now hundreds across 45 cases of] prisoners of conscience. And he has taken on Burma and North Korea, two of the most repressive regimes in the world, directly leading worldwide and ongoing campaigns to restore the rights of their oppressed peoples. What defines him is his intense drive to attain enormous ends and improve civil and human rights on a global level. This young lawyer’s hard work is already having a profound impact. Of how many can this be said?

—The Honorable Václav Havel

Former President of the Czechoslovakia (1989-1992) and Czech Republic (1993-2003)

Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

In the years I served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, I was fortunate enough to have met regularly with some of the world’s leading human rights lawyers and Jared was one of the most prominent of them. We worked together on a variety of cases including those of the imprisoned Chinese Nobel Peace Prize Laureate the late Liu Xiaobo and the Venezuelan politician Leopoldo López. I grasped first-hand the cleverness of his approach to thorny human rights cases and his relentless advocacy. Jared’s professional success can be attributed to his boundless energy and courage. But it is his sense of purpose that also stands out; grounded in his deep compassion for the those suffering grievously. It is his clients, he says, who inspire him the most; they are his heroes. He has unswerving integrity, decency, and civility. People who meet Jared feel they must help him – that is what happened to me, because ultimately his cause (his client or the issue at stake) will always be worth championing!

—Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2014-2018)

The Honorable Kjell Magne Bondevik

I served for a decade as Prime Minister of Norway and now run the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights. I have [also] previously worked in the United Nations system as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Humanitarian Envoy to the Horn of Africa . . . When we were introduced by a mutual friend, Jared proposed that I commission him and his law firm on a pro bono basis to produce a major report on the situation of human rights in North Korea with Václav Havel and Elie Wiesel . . . Within months, Jared was leading a team of over 20 lawyers and staff from his law firm in producing a meticulous and highly-detailed report that was over 140 pages with more than 1,000 footnotes. Published in 2006, Failure to Protect invoked the doctrine of the responsibility of all states to protect their own citizens from the more serious of human rights abuses, including crimes against humanity . . . In my experience working with him, Jared has demonstrated exceptional judgment, strong organizational skills, and deep substantive knowledge of international human rights law. He has also demonstrated the capacity to work with diverse communities around the world. I firmly believe in the importance of dialogue to advance discussions of human rights, even with the most repressive of governments. Yet being effective in this arena requires patience, flexibility, discretion, and diplomatic skill. He has all of this and more.

—The Honorable Kjell Magne Bondevik

President, Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights

The Honorable Irwin Cotler

By way of background for my remarks, I served as a Member of the Canadian Parliament from 1999-2015, and during that time served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada between 2003-2006. Before that, from 1973 until my election to Parliament, I was a Professor of Law at McGill University Law School and Director of its Human Rights Institute. Over the course of my career, I have served as international counsel to numerous prisoners of conscience, including Nelson Mandela, Andrei Sakharov, and Natan Sharansky, among others . . . In my view, Jared is the most talented and effective international human rights lawyer of his generation . . . As someone who has spent my entire career representing prisoners of conscience as well, I can say with authority that Jared’s work in this complex, interdisciplinary, and specialist field is masterful and uniquely effective.

—The Honorable Irwin Cotler

Chairman, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights

Carl Gershman, Former President

I’ve been President of the National Endowment for Democracy since its founding almost a quarter of a century ago. In that time I’ve encountered many young people of extraordinary idealism and ability. Jared is unusual in many respects. He combines unparalleled energy and motivation with an ability to marshal all available resources (including a remarkable capacity to mobilize and motivate his peers and colleagues) and to focus them on the achievement of practical objectives using the tools of international human rights law, from the freeing of an imprisoned human rights activist to the liberation of an entire country.

—Carl Gershman

Former President, National Endowment for Democracy

Fr. James Mawdsley

I first got to know Jared in a rather unique way. In August 1999, I was given a 17-year sentence in solitary confinement in Burma for supporting the indigenous pro-democracy movement. At the time, I did not realize that Jared was a student in a law school, but in any event his work was just as effective as any qualified lawyer’s work could be . . . Jared's key accomplishments . . . included bipartisan letters from five U.S. Senators and 18 Members of Congress to the Burmese regime calling for my release . . . and a unanimous judgment from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that I was being held “illegally and arbitrarily” and that my trial was “a mockery of all legal principles applicable in jurisdictions where the rule of law prevails.” Within two weeks of it being made public in October 2000, I was released, some 416 days into my 17 year sentence. I met Jared on the day of my return to London . . . Jared brings a tremendous voice on behalf of prisoners of conscience whose cases he takes on. He has a thorough understanding of . . . global political systems . . . with well-placed and influential contacts. His total professionalism and reliability makes him the safest of allies, and his ability to operate skillfully in several fields – legal, political, and media – make him a formidable foe, even for the most brutal of dictatorships.

—Fr. James Mawdsley

Catholic Priest, Client

Quan Nguyen, Chairman

I am still overwhelmed by the feeling of appreciation and gratitude to Jared because my brother, Dr. Quan Nguyen [a leading Vietnamese dissident], was released from the communist prison of Vietnam . . . [W]e were indeed lucky to meet Jared Genser . . . Once he agreed to take up my brother’s case, Jared never stopped impressing and surprising me. He was dedicated, methodical, effective, and relentless . . . What I have presented above is testimony to Jared Genser’s sense of social responsibility and his dedicated service to those suffering people at the hands of the powerful and mostly forgotten when it comes to Vietnam. I haven’t found many people, young or old, who have a heart and mind like Jared Genser, let alone that he and Freedom Now have always provided their assistance completely pro bono.

—Quan Nguyen

Chairman, International Committee for Freedom to Support the
Non-Violent Movement for Human Rights in Vietnam

Janis Puracal

Jared helped save my brother's life. My brother, Jason Puracal, was wrongfully convicted in Nicaragua and almost died from inhumane prison conditions. Jared's tireless work with the State Department and the United Nations helped secure food, water, and medical care for Jason. Even more remarkable, Jared worked as part of a team of individuals who eventually secured Jason's release and allowed him to return home to the US with his family. My sincerest thanks, Jared.

– Janis Puracal

Sister of Jason Puracal, Client

Mark P. Lagon, Ph.D.

I have worked with Jared Genser on human rights campaigns in Washington and the United Nations for several years. He is among the top five percent of the very most creative people I know in public policy and public affairs work. His creative campaigns to raise the human rights issues of Burma and North Korea were "top drawer," indeed beyond top drawer. In both cases, they involved (1) the drafting of very serious legal analyses about why the Burma and North Korea cases merit Security Council action; (2) mobilizing partner organizations, Congressional offices, and U.S. Federal Government officials; (3) securing the highest level foreign leaders to co-chair and promote the effort; and (4) engagement with officials at the U.N. to get them aired . . . His work is defined by ethical principles, and involves rock-solid legal work. But Jared's penchant for stitching together strange bedfellow coalitions of opinion leaders and calling attention to issues that demand public and leaders attention are in a class of their own. He's an affable, loyal, and immensely valuable colleague, exhibiting energy of highest intensity. I recommend him enthusiastically without any reservation.

– Mark P. Lagon, Ph.D.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Combat Trafficking in Persons