Katharina Theil
Katharina is a solicitor working in the international department at Leigh Day with experience in international claims arising from human rights violations, personal injury and environmental damage. She qualified in 2019.
Since joining Leigh Day in 2012, Katharina has worked on various high profile cases, including the Mau Mau claims, brought by over 5,000 Kenyans who alleged that they were subjected to torture and other inhuman and degrading treatment at the hands of the British colonial administration in the 1950’s during the Kenyan struggle for independence, and a group litigation against Shell on behalf of Nigerian fishermen and women living in the Niger Delta arising from the loss and damage caused by two major oil spills. She is currently part of a team instructed for claimants in claims arising from environmental damage and is involved in a case on behalf of victims of lead poisoning brought in South Africa. She has a special interest in corporate accountability for human rights violations, claims arising from labour exploitation and climate change litigation.
Prior to joining Leigh Day, Katharina gained experience at the International Labour Organisation’s International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour and Human Rights Watch in Geneva, Switzerland. She speaks German and French.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2019
Qualifications
- BA Internationale Beziehungen (BA International Relations) (2010)
- Master of Laws (LLM) (2012)
- Graduate Diploma in Law (2015)
- Legal Practice Course (2017)
Education
- Technische Universitaet Dresden, Germany (2007-2010)
- SOAS, University of London (2011-2012)
- BPP University (2013-2015, 2016-2017)
1 Contributions by Katharina Theil
PRACTICE NOTES
Planning and Climate Change Litigation: Public Law Challenges to Plans, Policies and Consents, EIA Obligations and Leading Cases in England and Wales
Climate change litigation
In recent decades, climate change has assumed increasing prominence. As science has advanced on the drivers of climate change and the present and expected effects of warming, impatience has mounted with the pace of law and policy‑making. This sits alongside ongoing international initiatives, notably the 2015 Paris Agreement, under which parties pledge to cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions so as to keep the rise in global average temperature well below 2.0 degrees above pre‑industrial levels, and to strive to constrain it further to 1.5 degrees. For further details, see Practice Note: The Paris Agreement 2015-snapshot. Consequently, litigants are turning more frequently to the courts, which are confronting climate arguments in diverse forms and fact patterns. Data released in July 2022 show that, in 2021, litigation continued to grow as a channel for climate action. Far from dampening these cases, the Paris Agreement has energised them. Many domestic laws and policies remain markedly below the Paris ambitions, whether judged by design or probable impact. ‘Climate change litigation’ may potentially encompass...
Planning
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