Alvi Hakim

Partnership Developer - Private Sector

“I sing the song of equality, nothing is greater than humanity, nothing more noble”- Kazi Nazrul Islam, National Poet of Bangladesh, known as the Rebel Poet for his writings on equality, freedom and resistance to colonialism. This quote sits at the very centre of how I understand human rights. I see it as the codification of our most fundamental human emotions of dignity, empathy, fairness and our sense of justice, principles by which we can measure the progress of a society. So for me, the presence and the implementation of human rights and justice as the bedrock of how far a society has progressed. And that is ultimately why I do what I do, to ensure that our laws, institutions and economic systems remain centred on the people they are meant to serve.

Alvi Hakim is a Partnership Developer-Private Sector at the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL), where he works at the intersection of business, human rights and people centred justice. His role focuses on building partnerships between the private sector and other key stakeholders to strengthen justice infrastructure, create shared value and develop practical approaches that improve access to justice. Drawing on his expertise in business and human rights, he works to bridge the interests of businesses, justice actors and communities, with a particular focus on areas including land rights, gender based violence, family justice and the rights and justice needs of SMEs. Alvi has extensive experience working as both a corporate commercial lawyer, specialising in Cross Border M&A, working for large global law firm within the ASEAN region, as well as practicing as a human rights lawyer across the ASEAN and South Asia. Working across these two fields has given him a strong understanding of the relationship between economic activity, business practices and people’s everyday justice needs, particularly in the Global South. This experience drew him to HiiL’s people-centred approach to justice and to the opportunity to work with diverse stakeholders to build justice systems and solutions that better protect the rights while also supporting sustainable economic and social development.

While working for DLA Piper, Alvi was the Asia Pro Bono Associate and was the coordinator for the Know Your Rights Project with Thomson Reuters Foundation and IRC working with migrants and refugees in Mae Sot, Mae La Camp in Thailand/Myanmar Border, which received the Thomson Reuters Foundation Innovation Award in New York in 2018.

In Bangladesh, He worked as the coordinator for the project which supported survivors of 82 severely tortured and injured victims of the July 2024 Uprising in Bangladesh, providing legal and medical referral support, and assisting in documenting their stories for the UN OHCHR Fact Finding Report. As the National Coordinator of the United Against Torture Consortium, Alvi presented the report at the 61st United Nations Human Rights Council Side Event in Geneva in 2026.

As founding partner of the law firm Nexalegal Asia in Dhaka, Alvi has advised on major corporate and commercial matters and was recognised by the Asia Business Law Journal as one of Bangladesh’s top 50 Lawyers for 2022 and 2026.

Outside of work, Alvi is a passionate foodie, avid traveler, and a meme collector, who loves puns and takes his work very seriously but not himself.

Contact info

[email protected]
+31 70 762 0700
+31 68 79 12 162