Martyn Day is famous for winning ‘unwinnable’ David-Goliath cases, but the head of the legal firm who took on Shell Nigeria is gloomy about the state of international law
“Well, it’s a fairly depressing landscape,” says Martyn Day. He doesn’t seem particularly depressed as he says it. In fact, he seems positively cheerful, radiating all the satisfaction and energy of a man doing a job he loves.
That is probably at least partly because his legal firm Leigh Day, which specialises in ensuring “that the ordinary person has just as good quality legal advice as our state bodies, insurers and multinationals” has just pulled off a legal coup in the form of a settlement with Shell Nigeria for £55m. Leigh Day represented 15,600 Ogoni farmers and fisherman whose livelihoods were shattered after a two large oil leaks in 2008 and 2009. The original offer from Shell, back in 2011, was £4,000 for the whole community.
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