Our Champions of Justice

Barbara Levi

Member of the Group Executive Board and the Group General Counsel of UBS Group AG and UBS AG

Barbara is a member of the Group Executive Board and the Group General Counsel of UBS Group AG and UBS AG. Based in Zurich she is leading UBS's legal teams around the world. 

Barbara has extensive experience across corporate, commercial and compliance matters. For over 20 years, she has held a number of senior legal and compliance roles across Europe and in the US, in-house and in private practice. Before joining UBS, Barbara was Chief Legal Officer & External Affairs at Rio Tinto and has worked for 15 years at Novartis in different senior roles such as Group Legal Head M&A and Strategic Transactions, General Counsel of Sandoz, the generic arm of Novartis, Global Legal Head Product Strategy & Commercialization, General Counsel for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Global Legal Head for Technical Operations for the Pharma division of Novartis. In addition, Barbara led cross-divisional practice teams, building capabilities, and establishing standards and processes for compliance with trade sanctions and anti- bribery. Before joining Novartis, Barbara has worked as a litigator in law firms in Milan (Italy) and as corporate and transactional attorney in law firms in New York City (US) for several years. Barbara is an attorney-at-law, admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, the New York Bar, and the Italian Bar.

Jeh Charles Johnson

Partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and former Secretary of Homeland Security

Jeh Johnson is a partner in the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP, who in public life was Secretary of Homeland Security (2013-2017), General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2009-2012), General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force (1998-2001), and an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York (1989-1991).

As Secretary of Homeland Security, Johnson was the head of the third largest cabinet department of the U.S. government, consisting of 230,000 personnel and 22 components.  

As General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Johnson is credited with being the legal architect for the U.S. military’s counterterrorism efforts in the Obama Administration.  In 2010, Johnson co-authored the report that paved the way for the repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell by Congress later that year.

In private life, in addition to practicing law, Johnson is on the board of directors of Lockheed Martin, U.S. Steel, MetLife, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City, and is a trustee of Columbia University. Johnson is a regular commentator on NBC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX, PBS and other news networks. In August 2023 Johnson and former appellate Judge J. Michael Luttig were appointed by the president of the American Bar Association to lead an ABA Task Force on American Democracy. In 2020, at the request of the Chief Judge of New York Johnson conducted an assessment of equal justice in the New York State court system, which was conveyed in a public report on October 1, 2020.

Johnson is the 2024 recipient of the Gold Medal, the New York State Bar Association’s highest honor, a 2024 recipient of the National Law Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award, a 2021 recipient of the American Lawyer’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and a 2018 recipient of the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Award.

Johnson is a graduate of Morehouse College and Columbia Law School and the recipient of 13 honorary degrees.