Doughty Street Chambers has been retained to act as the principal legal team defending Julian Assange, who was arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London on Thursday (April 11) on breach of bail charges. He now faces extradition to the U.S. to answer computer-hacking charges.

Assange was represented at a preliminary hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court by Doughty Street barrister Liam Walker, with barrister Ben Cooper advising specifically on issues relating to Assange's potential U.S. extradition.

Doughty Street barrister Jennifer Robinson, who has represented Assange for almost a decade, will continue to act as the WikiLeaks founder's principal legal adviser. No solicitors are involved in Assange's defence, according to the chambers. Former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon is coordinating the Assange global legal team from Madrid.

Legal Week first reported Robinson's involvement with the WikiLeaks founder in 2010, when she was at City media firm Finers Stephens, and Assange was first made the subject of a U.S. investigation.

Robinson focuses on free speech and civil liberties issues, and has also represented clients including The New York Times and Bloomberg.

According to a Doughty Street chambers spokesperson, the average time to complete an extradition case to the U.S. is 10 months. However, because Assange's case has "already been litigated quite extensively", it could take less time.

In a press statement issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday (April 11), Assange is subject to a U.S./U.K. extradition treaty in connection to "agreeing to break a password to a classified U.S. government computer", and for engaging in a conspiracy with former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

After Assange's arrest in London, the U.S. Government reactivated a provisional warrant for his arrest, first issued in December 2017. The U.S. Government now has 45 days to deliver a full request to the U.K for Assange's extradition.