Anthony Hayward
Paralegal
International and group claims department
Anthony Hayward is a paralegal in Daniel Leader’s team within the International and Group Claims Department at Leigh Day, with a focus on complex international environmental and human rights litigation.
Since joining Leigh Day in October 2022, he has been involved in several significant cases, including:
- King John Berebon & Others v Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd (formerly Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd [SPDC]) – Acting on behalf of the Bodo community in their claim for environmental remediation following two major oil spills in 2008. The case, which went to trial in May 2025, seeks adequate clean-up and restoration for a community whose environment and livelihoods were severely damaged.
- Alame & Ors v Shell plc and Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd (formerly SPDC) – Representing over 13,000 claimants from the Ogale and Bille communities in the Niger Delta in claims against Shell plc and its Nigerian subsidiary for compensation and environmental remediation following extensive oil pollution.
Before joining Leigh Day, he worked at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, where he led on multiple immigration and asylum claims and public law challenges grounded in human rights.
He holds a BA in History from the University of Manchester, where he specialised in modern British and postcolonial history. His dissertation, which received the Warren Kinsey Prize for best thesis on a historical subject, examined Britain’s multifaceted involvement in the Nigerian Civil War. He went on to complete the PGDL at BPP University and the SQE at the University of Law.
Beyond his legal work, Anthony is a member of the Executive Committee of the Human Rights Lawyers’ Association. He has also volunteered with several organisations, including the European Legal Support Centre, Refugee Community Kitchen, and Manchester Refugee Support Network.
ICJ declares Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible”
Anthony Hayward and Lauren Chaplin, from the International and Group Claims department, set out the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in relation to Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and reflect on its impact.
UK companies risk prosecution after National Crime Agency’s failure to investigate cotton imports from the Uyghur region is ruled unlawful
UK companies who may be profiting from forced labour in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (XUAR) risk being prosecuted following a landmark Court of Appeal judgement which found the failure of the National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate the importation of cotton produced there was unlawful.
KLM Judgment: The intensifying scrutiny of corporate greenwashing across Europe
Anthony Hayward, Joe Snape and Tom Short discuss the KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij) judgment and the impact on other corporations greenwashing across Europe