International claims
"They are fabulously committed and extremely competent. They have the guts to go and spend weeks in difficult environments and then take the claims to the UK courts."
- Chambers & partners 2016
2 minutes with the international team
Leigh Day represents people from around the world in fighting for their rights against the most powerful actors in our society; corporations and governments.
We have secured justice for tens of thousands of women, men and children. Whether our clients are based in the remote reaches of the highlands of Peru, the wetlands of the Niger Delta, or right here in the United Kingdom, we represent our clients with skill, passion and integrity.
To challenge impunity of corporations and government, we look for innovative ways to ensure legal accountability. Our ground-breaking cases have set precedents in English law that are referred to in jurisdictions around the world. Our work has included:
- Developing the case law that led to multinational parent companies being found to have a duty of care to those affected by their subsidiaries;
- Establishing England and Wales as an appropriate jurisdiction for foreign nationals to sue multinational companies for the harm occurring overseas;
- Ensuring that in cases alleging torture by other States, the British Government has not been able to avoid liability by relying on State Immunity or the Foreign Act of State doctrine; and
- Confirming that minimum standards of protection must be maintained by the British armed forces when individuals are captured during military operations abroad.
In addition to much-needed compensation from successful litigation, an important outcome for our clients has often been the disclosure into the public domain of closely-guarded information held by corporate and government defendants. Claimants have also been able to secure concessions and apologies from defendants who had, until litigation was pursued, denied even the existence of the wrongs suffered.
In taking on these cases, we seek to balance the scales in favour of the exploited, the injured and the dispossessed against well-resourced powerful entities, whether they are well-known British-based multinationals or the British Government.