Oliver Holland
Partner
Oliver specialises in international cases involving multinational corporations where environmental harm or human rights abuses have been alleged
Oliver is a partner in the international department.
Oliver has been representing claimants in group litigation for over a decade. He has extensive experience in conflict of law issues, Group Litigation Orders and large-scale litigation against some of the world’s largest multinational companies.
Legal expertise
Oliver has represented communities, workers and consumers in group actions relating to human rights abuses, environmental damage, parent company liability, supply chain liability and consumer law.
Some of Oliver recent cases have included:
- Lungowe v Vedanta plc [2019] UKSC 20 a Supreme Court decision concerning jurisdiction in cross-border parent company liability concerning environmental pollution from a Zambian copper mine;
- Begum v Maran (UK) Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 326 a Court of Appeal decision concerning the liability arising from involvement of third parties in shipbreaking;
- Josiya & Ors v British American Tobacco plc & Ors [2021] EWHC 1743 (QB) concerning the liability of the Defendants to those in their supply chain in which Oliver represent over 10,000 Malawian tobacco farmers and their children.
Oliver currently represents tens of thousands of claimants across the UK and internationally including matters concerning environmental damage from the extractives sector, air pollution from emissions from diesel vehicles and pollution of the UK’s waterways and seas.
What the directories say
Oliver is superb. He has the ability to balance the big picture with a nuanced view.
Chambers and partners 2024
Oliver Holland in the news
- Is Turkey’s economy heading towards another recession? Al Jazeera 17.4.21
- Recent UK Court of Appeal judgment may lead to greater accountability of companies hiding behind complex supply chains Business & Human Rights Resource Centre 2.4.21
FTSE 100 firm faces landmark modern slavery legal challenge Personnel Today November 2019 - Children under 13 picked coffee beans for Starbucks and Nespresso Metro March 2020
- Children as young as eight picked coffee beans on farms supplying Starbucks The Guardian March 2020
- Breaking Bad – Uncovering The Oil Industry’s Dirty Secret BBC March 2020
- Zambians can pursue mining pollution claim in English courts The Guardian April 2019
- End of the liner – deadly boat graveyards where kids as young as eights risk their lives The Sun September 2019
- Child labour claim brought against British American Tobacco The Times October 2019
- Vedanta’s London exit fails to stem scrutiny of Indian miner The Financial Times October 2018
- Leigh Day demands answers after lawyer arrest in Zambia Gazette January 2017
What the directories say
He has nous beyond his years and knows which buttons to press to get under the skin of his opponents. Great with clients and super cool under pressure.
Legal 500 2022
News and blogs
Allegations of forced labour and dangerous conditions at Dyson Malaysian factory to be heard in High Court
Migrant workers’ claims against Dyson Group of forced labour and dangerous conditions in a Malaysian factory producing the company’s electrical goods will be heard at the High Court between 17 and 19 July.
Consumer representative actions: Is the EU’s new system better?
Oliver Holland and Walker Syachalinga explain the differences between the European Union’s new system for bringing representative legal action and the system that still applies in England and Wales.
Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region: activists, campaigners and lawyers call for urgent action in the European Parliament
Oliver Holland and Claire Powell from the International Department report on the work of the Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labour and their attendance at the recent public panel event at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Forced labour in UK companies’ supply chains: is a UK due diligence law the answer?
Oliver Holland and Ella Cornish discuss what the UK can do to catch up with global moves to halt the import of goods manufactured by the use of forced labour.
Accreditations
