Climate Protestors Strike Big Law: What’s Next?

Five Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters were arrested after storming A&O Shearman’s headquarters in London on December 4th. Members of the climate group invaded the lobby to protest law firms they allege support fossil fuel companies in harming the environment.

A&O Shearman is a recent addition to the list of firms targeted by climate activists in the UK and across Europe. XR continues to pressure such firms to sever links with companies in the fossil fuel industry.

XR’s move against A&O Shearman came days after activist group Lawyers Are Responsible (LAR) held sit-ins at the five “Magic Circle” firms.

Another group, Law Students for Climate Accountability, compiles a yearly report listing all law firms allegedly benefiting from facilitating fossil fuel transactions. They accuse such firms of profiting from ecological and climate collapse.

XR Blames A&O Shearman for Supporting Fossil Fuels

“We targeted A&O Shearman’s London HQ because the firm has facilitated more than $285 billion in fuel transactions over the past five years,” said one XR spokesperson. “That’s the second-highest amount for any law firm in the world. We demand that they cut all ties with those fossil fuels. There is no excuse for doing business with companies responsible for destroying our planet.”

According to the activism group, A&O Sherman has enabled fossil fuel companies to harm the environment, and so they urge the law firm to refuse cases in future to help halt the oil industry. The organisation argues that law is a public profession, and lawyers are expected to do their work in the public interest. They suggest that being a lawyer is a privilege that entails the responsibility to champion public interests, and so XR justifies storming A&O Shearman, as they believe the firm is pursuing clients’ interests to line their own pockets.

XR challenges A&O Shearman and other law firms to take on corporate legal responsibility and be part of the solution, rather than the problem, in the climate change crisis.

A&O Shearman is the World’s Third Largest Law Firm

A&O Shearman is working on the thorny details following its recent merger, which created a $3.4 billion law firm with more than 3,000 lawyers. It is also still dealing with the headache of trimming up to 10% of its global partnership, as well as breaking ties with its consulting division and South African Office.

Over the past month, the firm has been the subject of three protests organised by three separate climate action groups: XR, LAR and Fossil Free London. Although other elite law firms have been targeted by these groups, none has been the centre of attention like A&O Shearman.

To date, the firm has acted for such oil and gas companies as Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Chevron and Yukos Oil Company. In 2021, it facilitated Hassana Investment Company’s leaseback deal with Saudi Aramco for $15.5 billion.

Climate Activists Have Targeted Other Big Law Firms in the Past

In 2020, Law Students for Climate Accountability prepared a list of more than 600 signatures from students in law schools like Harvard, New York University, Stanford, Yale and the University of Michigan, and hand-delivered it to the Manhattan Office of Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, demanding that the firm stop representing fossil fuel companies, such as ExxonMobil.

The recent protest escalated the demonstrations by LAR at A&O Shearman and law firm Akin, as well as the sit-ins by scientists and health professionals at five oil-industry-supporting Magic Circle firms. XR had also gone after additional firms, including Eversheds Sutherland.

The most recent report by Law Students for Climate Accountability found that between 2019 and 2023, the top 100 law firms globally facilitated $2.9 trillion in fossil fuel transactions, and received $32.97 million in compensation for lobbying on behalf of oil and gas industry players.

The UK Government Leads Crackdown on Climate Activists

With demonstrations ongoing in the UK, the police have arrested many protestors. A recent report found that British police arrest climate activists at around three times the global average rate. This means that the country is among the leading nations in the world in legal arrests under climate protest law.

According to the report, the UK comes in second after Australia, which has been arresting environmental and climate protesters at the highest rate globally. One in every five Australian climate action protests led to arrests, compared to around 17% in the UK and the global average rate of 6.7%.

The report highlights that there has been a public outcry in the UK and other European countries over targeting environment and climate action during the past decade. The research also shows that states are more focused on punishing dissent instead of tackling environmental law issues provoking activists.

“In many countries, the government’s response to peaceful protests is to repress rather than enable people seeking to speak up for the environment,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders, Michel Forst.

Attacks on Law Firms Came After Protests Against Insurance Firms

In February (2024), XR protesters occupied insurance companies who were insuring fossil fuel corporations, storming five major companies in London, including at the Walkie-Talkie building.

Later, in October, the organisation went after other insurance firms in the UK in a campaign dubbed “Insure Our Survival”. The target insurers included Howden, AXA, AIG, Markel, Liberty Mutual, Marsh, Swiss Re, Travelers, WTW and Tokio Marine.

Each year, the Insure Our Survival campaign publishes a scorecard of the top 30 insurance companies and their involvement in the oil industry. According to the 2023 survey, insurance companies in the Lloyd’s of London market are among the world’s biggest underwriters of oil and gas projects. These UK insurers, collectively, have an estimated €2 billion in annual premiums.

Source: Law.com International

References:

The Guardian

Extinction Rebellion

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