England - London • Real estate
Pogust Goodhead
Pogust Goodhead has an exclusive focus on litigation on behalf of claimants, with a view to bringing to light breaches of environmental law committed by global corporations and international subsidiaries, and it litigates against high-profile clients of this nature. It is noted as being ‘ambitious; it embraces the opportunity to take on precedent-setting litigation’. The practice has a multitude of specialists at its helm, being Tom Goodhead who is described as harnessing ’unrivalled expertise in environmental group actions’; Céline Barnwell; Jeremy Evans; Christopher Neill; Tom Ainsworth; the ‘very knowledgeable’ Ana Carolina Salomão; Tony Winterburn; and November 2022 arrival from Keller Postman UK Guy Robson. Other team changes include the departures of founding partners Pedro Martins and of Tomás Mousinho to respective in-house roles, both in August 2022.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Pogust Goodhead is unique in its pursuit of seeking justice for underprivileged people.’
‘Tom Goodhead is a brilliant strategist; Guy Robson brings a lot of fresh and deep litigation experience to Pogust Goodhead; Bruna Ficklscherer is passionate and hard-working.’
‘Pogust Goodhead has a strong focus on international environmental disputes. It is very impressive how the firm provides thorough and systematic knowledge of the Brazilian legal system. The firm has a great experience in mass litigation claims and follows a very structured approach to handling proceedings with a large number of claimants.’
‘Tom Goodhead's strategic input is very valuable - his team provides a very pragmatic advice and is focused on values. Christopher Neill has a very pragmatic approach to complex legal questions.'
'Anna Carolina Salomão is very knowledgeable, responsive and pragmatic and can be relied upon to find practical solutions to very complex legal challenges.’
‘PGMBM outperforms its rivals. For a relatively new firm, it has deservedly made a name for itself. The team pursue their client’s interests fearlessly and obtain excellent results. The team is ambitious; it embraces the opportunity to take on precedent-setting litigation.’
‘Tom Goodhead has excellent judgment and unrivalled expertise in environmental group actions.’
Work highlights
- Representing over 700,000 claimants in regard to the 2015 ‘Fundão Dam collapse’ in South-eastern Brazil, involving 50m cubic metres of iron ore tailings being washed into the Doce River.
- Issued proceedings against Dutch petrochemical giant Braskem over significant environmental destruction (including an earthquake) caused by its controversial mining activities in the city of Maceio, Brazil.
- Representing over 15,000 claimants in the Volkswagen NOx Emissions Group Litigation as part of the Steering Committee appointed by the Court to conduct the Litigation pursuant to a Group Litigation Order.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Tom Goodhead, Céline Barnwell, Jeremy Evans, Christopher Neill, Tom Ainsworth, Ana Carolina Salomão, Guy Robson, Tony Winterburn