Richard Meeran

Practice Areas

Richard is Partner and Head of the International Department.

He pioneered ground-breaking cases against multinationals, transforming English law on parent company liability. His work includes cases for South African mercury poisoning victims against Thor Chemicals, South African asbestos miners against Cape plc, Connelly v Rio Tinto, and a torture complicity claim by Peruvian environmental protesters against Monterrico. Richard led the team assisting South African lawyers in gold miners’ silicosis litigation, leading to the landmark Q(h)ebeka Trust. He is involved in a South African lead poisoning class action against Anglo American for Zambian children.

He won the 2002 Liberty/Justice Human Rights Lawyer of the Year Award “[f]or his commitment to protection of workers' rights to decent working conditions and a safe environment, through ensuring access to justice for workers injured by UK multinational corporations abroad”.

Richard has spoken frequently at international venues, including the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights. He is a member of the Drafting Team of the Hague Rules on BHR Arbitration.

Publications

Richard has published extensively on BHR, including, ‘Multinational Human Rights Litigation in the UK: A Retrospective’ in 10-years anniversary edition of the BHR Journal. He is Editor of ‘Human Rights Litigation against Multinationals in Practice’