Our Team

Archana Kotecha

Founder & CEO

  • Archana is a UK qualified barrister and London School of Economics graduate who started her career practicing corporate law with KPMG then with DLA Piper. After 7 years as a corporate lawyer, Archana joined the UN Refugee Agency’s Legal Protection Team in London and subsequently the Immigration Advisory Service and Stop Trafficking UK in London. Archana’s expertise includes developing Operational Guidelines for Business on Remediation of Human Rights Grievances, in partnership with the IOM, developing a pilot programme for a non-judicial worker grievance mechanism for businesses in Malaysia, and conducting a scoping study on strengthening the strategic litigation ecosystem to tackle forced labour, human trafficking, and exploitation in supply chains in South East Asia.

    Before founding The Remedy Project in 2021, Archana was the Head of Legal and Asian Region Director for Liberty Shared in Hong Kong. Disrupting the activities of traffickers by improving modern slavery’s visibility within financial institutions, educating NGOs and lawyers on anti-trafficking legal frameworks and victim identification have also been key aspects of Archana’s work. This included experience such as conducting an industry-focused analysis of Malaysia’s palm oil industry, with a specific focus on the industry’s governance and investment framework, relevant labour laws that apply to migrant workers in the industry, and various dispute resolution mechanisms, and conducting a study on pathways to compensation for victims of trafficking under anti-trafficking legal frameworks in Thailand and Cambodia. In 2017, Archana was named as one of the top ten innovative lawyers in Asia Pacific by the Financial Times Asia.

    Archana draws upon her extensive experience and network in the space of counter-exploitation and her corporate law background to deliver on the aims and objects of The Remedy Project.

Carmel Laurino

COO

  • Carmel has over a decade of experience in social impact and entrepreneurship across agriculture, labour, migration, and rural development sectors. She’s experienced in managing non-profit organisations, leading teams, and catalysing mission-driven impact.

    Before joining The Remedy Project, Carmel was the Managing Director of Honest Jobs, an early stage incubator making strategic investments to transform inefficient and exploitative labour migration markets to eliminate conditions of forced labour across Asia. Carmel is also the founder of Kalsada Coffee, a social enterprise that has become one of the largest exporters of Philippine specialty coffee. Kalsada pioneered the introduction of Philippine-origin coffees to the export market and continues to partner with rural farming communities to invest in its infrastructure. Carmel is passionate about enabling teams, solving problems and creating high impact solutions.

    Carmel received her MS in Strategic Design & Management from Parsons The New School for Design and her BA in International Studies & Political Science from the University of Washington.

David Zhang

Special Advisor

  • David has over a decade of experience practicing law in Asia. Since joining The Remedy Project, David has focused on assisting with the development of multi-stakeholder programs to more effectively resolve employer-worker disputes.Prior to joining The Remedy Project, David was a Ropes & Gray partner based in the Shanghai and Hong Kong offices. He advised multinational clients with developing their international compliance programs and risk mitigation strategies, designing and implementing compliance due diligence programs, and conducting compliance investigations. David’s previous pro bono work also includes helping to develop legal support programs for Hong Kong domestic workers and working to overturn wrongful criminal convictions using DNA evidence. David was ranked by Chambers Global as an “Up and Coming” partner in 2020. David is qualified to practice law in New York and graduated from The George Washington University Law School with a Juris Doctorate degree.

Rhea Goyal

Associate

  • Rhea is an Indian qualified lawyer and a researcher with over three years of experience working with international organisations, non-governmental organisations, companies and individuals. During her time in India, Rhea practiced in trial and appellate courts in New Delhi where she advised and represented clients on a range of issues across civil and criminal law. She also conducted research and contributed to reports on intersectional approaches to justice.

    Rhea obtained an LL.M in International Law from the Geneva Graduate Institute with a focus on protection of vulnerable groups. In her career, Rhea has worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, International Organisation for Migration, and ECPAT International across countries in Europe and South-East Asia.

    Rhea completed her B.A.,LL.B (Hons.) from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.

Veronica Paruolo

Associate

  • Veronica is a European and Italian Law graduate with experience in legal compliance in the private sector, working with legal professionals, businesses, and individual clients, and collaborating with governmental agencies and civil society organisations.

    As a Bank Officer, she worked on a range of issues relating to due diligence obligations, regulatory compliance, and legal procedures. She has also worked with asylum seekers from Latin America and South Asia and contributed to several social impact and sustainability projects as a member of an international youth initiative by the World Economic Forum.

    Veronica graduated magna cum laude from Bologna University Law School (Italy) with a focus on international child protection standards, the European Convention on Human Rights, and human trafficking.

    She completed her LL.B. from Maastricht University (the Netherlands) in European Law and Comparative Laws of France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Kate Chan

Associate

  • Kate is a Hong Kong-qualified lawyer and a law and literature graduate from The University of Hong Kong. Prior to joining The Remedy Project, she practiced as an advisory lawyer, providing legal advice and support on regulatory and compliance matters relating to the financial services industry. Her interdisciplinary studies in law and literature, combined with her experience in corporate and regulatory law, fuel her passion for engaging with the complex business, social, and cultural dynamics that shape our world. This drives her commitment to exploring the impetus and potential of law and narrative in our changing global landscape. Previously an associate at Baker McKenzie, she was responsible for reviewing and developing compliance procedures and policies, conducting regulatory due diligence, and managing cross-border multidisciplinary projects and communications with regulators. 

    Kate is also a writer and self-published a book of her prose and poetry in Hong Kong. 

Vruti Patel

Associate, Innovation & Special Projects

  • Vruti is an Associate at The Remedy Project, with a background in ESG consulting, social sustainability, and law. Before joining The Remedy Project, she worked on supply chain human rights assessments, legal advisory for M&A and private equity transactions, and social impact programme management in India, Singapore, and Sierra Leone. Her work has addressed complex challenges such as forced labour in supply chains and promoting sanitation and menstrual health through community initiatives.

    A graduate of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, Vruti is passionate about tackling systemic issues such as poverty, gender inequality, and economic disparity. She also brings experience in investment management, where she supported start-up funding and legal compliance processes.

    In her personal time, Vruti enjoys fitness, baking, and immersing herself in fiction.

    Vruti received her LLB from Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar.

Luke Tang

Fellow

  • Luke is a Fellow at The Remedy Project. He is a Hong Kong-qualified lawyer and holds a law degree from the University of Hong Kong. Before joining The Remedy Project, he completed his legal training at a Hong Kong law firm specialising in family law, civil litigation, and criminal litigation. He also served as a Fellow at a Hong Kong NGO, where he implemented legal capacity-building projects for grassroots workers, and gained experience at a multinational risk consultancy firm.

    Luke also holds a Master’s degree in Social Science in Global Political Economy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, reflecting his deep interest in how geography, economics, and politics shape the global landscape. With his multidisciplinary background, he is passionate about leveraging his legal expertise to protect the rights of disadvantaged communities worldwide.

    In his spare time, Luke enjoys playing football and spending time in nature.