Lawson-Cruttenden
Contents
Background
Lawson-Cruttenden solicitors and advocates specialise in "designing and effecting legal strategies to counter, contain and curtail the worst excesses of direct action groups".[1]
History
They have pioneered innovative uses of harassment law to criminalise protest. As described on their own website,
- this firm has achieved injunctions for transnational companies that have been recognised as protecting the business interests of clients who were being targeted and harassed. Experts in Corporate Harassment, they have acted for a number of transnational companies who have been targeted by animal rights and environmental protestors.[2].
In dialogue with NETCU
NETCU's aim was to explore new, political ways in which campaigns and protests could be countered and marginalised, suggests a Corporate Watch article.
- It would actively work with the media, lawyers and corporations to achieve this. Lead by Supt. Steven Pearl, it developed links with the pharmaceuticals industry, the press and with lawyer Timothy Lawson-Cruttenden. It even had a presence at security exhibitions and conferences.[3]
Innovative uses of harassment laws
The Public Order Act 1986 and other laws relating to harassment were used to make protest inherently unlawful. A detailed account of the legal implications are presented in a Corporate Watch article
- The Protection from Harassment Act of 1999 was the “stalkers law,” brought in by New Labour to give protection to women. Lawson-Cruttenden worked out that it could also be used to 'protect' corporations from demonstrations by seeking civil injunctions against protesters. The arrival of NETCU meant Lawson-Cruttenden now had a friendly police organisation to go hand in hand to companies, encouraging them to seek civil injunctions under the act, severely curtailing the right to protest in the process. When campaigners started to poke holes in the use of this law, the government of the day had little qualms about bringing in amendments to the law in favour of corporations.[3]
Injunctions
As described on their own website
- this firm has achieved injunctions for transnational companies that have been recognised as protecting the business interests of clients who were being targeted and harassed. Experts in Corporate Harassment, they have acted for a number of transnational companies who have been targeted by animal rights and environmental protestors.[4]
Criminalising protest
This company worked on the controversial injunction taken out by BAA against the Climate Camp for Action at Heathrow[5]. The Corporate Watch article suggests that Lawson-Cruttenden
- actively prepared and hawked injunctions, at the same time as NETCU was encouraging companies to take them out. For instance, documents released during the infamous Heathrow Climate Camp injunction[6] indicate that Lawson-Cruttenden was preparing documents five months before it was even decided that Heathrow would be the target.[3]
Practitioners
contact
Lawson-Cruttenden & Co.
10-11, Gray’s Inn Square
LONDON WC1R 5JD
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7405 0833
Facsimile: +44 (0)20 7405 0866
website: www.lawson-cruttenden.co.uk
Notes
- ↑ Lawson-cruttenden&co Solicitors and Advocates Website, Homeaccessed 22/01/11
- ↑ Lawson-cruttenden&co Solicitors and Advocates Website, corporate-harassmentaccessed 22/01/11
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Corporate Watch Farewell to NETCU: A brief history of how protest movements have been targeted by political policing 19/01/11, accessed 21/01/11
- ↑ Lawson-cruttenden&co Solicitors and Advocates Website, corporate-harassmentaccessed 22/01/11
- ↑ Lawson-cruttenden&co, Solicitors and Advocates' Wesbite Heathrow Airport Ltd -v- Joss Garman and ors [2007 EWHC 1957 (QB)] accessed 22/01/11
- ↑ Shnews Airbusted! 27/07/07, accessed 22/01/11
