Before attending law school Baskut spent several years working as a synthetic chemist for small- to medium-sized biopharmaceutical and synthetic biology companies, specializing in DNA synthesis. He has represented CIEL in international negotiations on chemicals management and intellectual property. Baskut has spoken on technology transfer, human rights, and climate change at various meetings and conferences of the United Nations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the World Intellectual Property Organization. He is participating in multi-stakeholder dialogue on climate change and intellectual property, and serves on the international advisory committee for Public Interest Intellectual Property Advisors.