Walker Syachalinga
Associate solicitor
Walker is an associate solicitor in the international and groups claims department
Walker is an associate solicitor in the international and group litigation team assisting on human rights, environmental damage and domestic group claims against multinational corporations and state-actors, including cases relating to reparations for historic wrongs.
Legal expertise
Walker’s expertise includes:
- Various claimants v First Quantum Minerals: acting on behalf of indigenous farming and fishing communities in Zambia who were involuntarily resettled from their land to make way for operations at First Quantum Minerals’ (‘FQM’) Kansanshi and Sentinel mines in the North-Western Province. The communities claim against Canadian domiciled FQM and its subsidiaries for losses arising out of FQM’s alleged failure to comply with Zambian law and international standards on involuntary land resettlement.
- Pan NOx Emissions (Dieselgate) Litigation: described by The Lawyer magazine as one of the Top 20 cases of 2025, Walker is assisting on one of four Lead GLO cases in the Pan NOx Emissions Litigation on behalf of thousands of vehicle owners against Peugeot, Citroën and DS manufacturers over alleged ‘cheat devices’ fitted on some of their diesel vehicles artificially reducing NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions contrary to Emissions Regulations. As part of his longstanding involvement in the Litigation, Walker assisted with preparations for:
- Lott and ors v PSA Automobiles SA and ors [2023] EWHC 2568 (KB)
- Wragg and ors v Opel Automobile GmbH and Anor [2023] EWHC 2632 (KB)
- Various Claimants v Mercedes-Benz Group AG & Ors [2023] EWHC 3173 (KB)
- Various Claimants v Nissan Motor Co Ltd & Ors [2024] EWHC 208 (KB)
- Various Claimants v Mercedes-Benz Group AG & Ors [2024] EWHC 695 (KB)
- In Re: Pan NOx Emissions Litigations [2024] EWHC 1222 (KB)
- (1) Joshua and ors (2) Lott and ors v (1) Renault S.A and ors (2) Stellantatis Auto SAS and ors [2024] EWHC 1424 (KB)
- Various Claimants v Mercedes-Benz Group AG & Ors [2025] (March 2025 CMC Hearing)
- Vedanta v Lungowe: assisted Martyn Day and Olly Holland on the landmark case in which 2,577 Zambian villagers brought a claim for damage to their land and waterways from copper mining effluent and emissions. The Zambian claimants and Vedanta reached a settlement in 2021.
- Andre Bravo v Amerisur Resources Plc. : assisted on an environmental claim involving members of a remote Colombian community (campesinos) who alleged water contamination from Amerisur’s oil operations. In 2020, the community succeeded in freezing £3million worth of Amerisur’s UK assets prior to a trial of the case.
- Reparations claims: investigating claims arising out of the present-day impact of the enslavement of Africans during the era of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
- Shehabi and another v Kingdom of Bahrain (Spyware cases): assisted on cases involving political activists living in the UK for their alleged targeting with foreign spyware.
- Asbestos and Industrial diseases: assisted Vijay Ganapathy on cases involving people suffering from asbestos-related diseases arising from exposure to asbestos.
Before joining Leigh Day, Walker worked in legal publishing as a research consultant and a law reports editor. He also gained vast experience with various human rights organisations including Friends of the Earth UK, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), Liberty (National Council for Civil Liberties) and Redress.
Walker's publications
- The Guardian: Most Britons do not know scale of UK's involvement in slavery, survey finds 25.03.25
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New Law Journal: Personal injury in the spotlight NLJ 28.1.22
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Journal of Personal Injury Law: Righting Historical Wrongs at Court: Lessons from Litigation against the British Government J.P.I. Law 2022, 2, 78-8
News and blogs
Communities living near Zambian copper mines take legal action against mining giant First Quantum Minerals over alleged involuntary resettlement of thousands of people
Villagers from farming and fishing communities in Zambia are taking legal action against Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals (FQM) claiming the company effectively forced them to leave their villages and resettle in areas where they face severe hardship and poverty.
Human rights and the ‘just transition’ in the new scramble for Africa
Walker Syachalinga examines how indigenous people’s rights and land can be protected in the race for Africa’s critical minerals.
Has the Supreme Court opened the door to reparations claims?
Walker Syachalinga considers a recent decision of the Supreme Court which could mean that people seeking to bring historic claims by relying on previously concealed information face lower hurdles.