Richard Meeran > Leigh Day > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Claimant-side activity is a key strength for Leigh Day, regularly advising on cross-jurisdictional multi-party claims arising from environmental damages, and acting for a range of NGOs and developing nations in high-stakes proceedings. The firm’s groundbreaking work continues to help define businesses environmental obligations, notably in the context of climate change and air pollution. Richard Meeran co-chairs the firm’s international department. Daniel Leader has extensive experience of multi-party claims, while Oliver Holland specialises in environmental damage cases. Tessa Gregory notably acts in matters related to wildlife and habitats, particularly on their interaction with planning and development consent. Other key figures include Carol Day , the founder of the firm’s environmental litigation service; and Shazia Yamin, ‘a fantastic tactician and lawyer‘ who specialises in large scale multi-party group actions. Rowan Smith – ‘incredibly knowledgeable and responsive‘ – is also recommended.

Practitioners at Leigh Day are ‘fearless in their mission to break new legal ground’, acting across a wide array of health and social care claims, inquests, inquiries, actions against the police and state, and judicial review proceedings. On the domestic front, the team represents individuals, NGOs, and charities, while the international and group litigation department focuses on holding big business and governments to account for injury, loss, and abuse. The latter is led jointly by Richard Meeran, a pioneer in claims against UK-domiciled multinationals, and Sapna Malik, who has built a reputation in landmark litigation against the state. Environment, immigration detention, and migrant rights specialist Jamie Beagent and privacy and data breaches expert Gene Matthews head up the human rights offering. Tessa Gregory, who has made waves in environmental litigation and matters of national security, Daniel Leader, who excels in complex multi-party claims, group actions, and torts, and Sean Humber, who focuses on privacy issues, prisoner rights, and discrimination, continue to be part of the firm’s vanguard of civil liberties defenders, as do prisons team head Benjamin Burrows and inquests lead Emma Jones. Andrew Lord, Kate Egerton, and Yvonne Kestler are further names to note.

Sally Moore and Daniel Easton co-head the personal injury practice at Leigh Day, fielding a ‘thorough understanding of the law’ in some of the sector’s most complex claims. A broadly specialised team, Moore’s focus on claims stemming from brain and spinal injuries, amputations and traffic collisions complements Easton’s industrial disease, mesothelioma and asbestos claims expertise. A frequent adviser in multijurisdictional cases, Martyn Day regularly covers group claims and workplace liability cases. Sapna Malik is a key figure for personal injury litigation pertaining to human rights law and public liability. Environmental, human rights and international personal injury law are also areas of expertise for Richard Meeran, the current head of the international department. Laura Murphy is a port of call for brain injury litigation, along with fatal and traffic collision claims. Noted for her ‘energy and determination’ Harminder Bains is the head of the team’s industrial disease and asbestos department, and oversees some of the most consequential asbestos litigation in the sector, including in the Supreme Court. 

As a market leader in the group claims space, Leigh Day draws on its broad, cross-practice expertise to advise on UK and international claims in the human rights and employment sectors. The team noted a recent increase in group actions with a strong environmental aspect; it is at the forefront of the diesel emissions scandal, as well as handling an environmental competition collective action. Jamie Beagent and Gene Matthews head the human rights team; Nigel Mackay and Emma Satyamurti lead on the employment side; and Richard Meeran and Sapna Malik are co-heads of the international and group litigation team. Also in the international group litigation department, Oliver Holland represents a diverse range of communities, workers and consumers in group actions concerning human rights abuses and environmental damage, often related to parent company or supply chain liability, alongside Daniel Leader, who bolsters the team’s cross-border capabilities. Sean Humber, in the human rights team, focuses his practice on privacy and data breach claims, acting for individuals and campaign groups. An active member of the employment practice, Kiran Daurka represents employees in equal pay, age discrimination and victimisation, and harassment claims. Sarah Moore joined the firm from Hausfeld & Co LLP in January 2024.