Business human rights issues for mining pursuits

Kevin O’Callaghan

Kevin is a respected litigator in British Columbia and Leader of the firm’s Indigenous Law group. He is also the regional Lead for the Corporate Social Responsibility Law group and actively involved in our Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) initiative. Providing strategic advice on indigenous, regulatory, environmental and other CSR and ESG issues, Kevin advises clients throughout Western and Northern Canada, and around the world.

Stuart Butzier

Stuart has assisted mining, energy, high-tech, industrial and ranching clients throughout his thirty-year legal career with Modrall Sperling Roehl Harris & Sisk, PA. He is the firm’s Vice President and Managing Director of its Santa Fe, New Mexico office. Stuart currently is the elected President of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, and the Vice Chair of IBA SEERIL’s Mining Law Committee.

Elise Groulx Diggs

Elise provides advice to multinational businesses and other economic actors on how to understand and respect international human rights norms. The aim is to enable them to prevent or minimise harm to employees, communities and others affected by their operations and thus avoid legal liability for such harm. She provides advice on how to address human rights issues in supply chains, development projects, mining, energy production and other spheres of activity. Her clients have also included international and domestic governmental agencies, nongovernmental organisations and labour unions. She offers formal guidance and training to members of the legal profession, business executives and others in the human rights arena and participates in the human rights programs of multiple international and domestic bar societies.

Jonathan Hoch

Jonathan is the Head of Legal – Commercial at Anglo American, with responsibility for managing the group legal teams based in Australia and at the newly acquired Woodsmith Project, as well as the members of the team that support the Anglo American treasury, supply chain and projects functions, the group exploration team, as well as supporting on significant commercial transactions globally.  Until recently he also managed the legal team in Peru.

Jonathan has worked at Anglo American, a global diversified mining company which has a stated purpose of re-imagining people’s live, for 22 years having joined the group in Johannesburg, South Africa before transferring to London in 2007. 

Jonathan Drimmer

Jonathan is a partner in the Investigations and White Collar Defense practice and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He resolves complex cross-border problems with the benefit of having sat in every chair at the table: senior legal officer for a global 500 company, federal prosecutor, and seasoned advocate. He is a recognized international expert on anti¬corruption and business and human rights, and is a frequent speaker, author, and commentator on issues related to both topics.

David Orta

David is Chair of the U.S. International Arbitration Practice and of the Latin America International Arbitration Practice. Chambers Global and Chambers Latin America report that clients call David Orta a “tenacious” advocate, “a vastly experienced attorney who inspires real confidence, with a remarkable ability to see all the angles.” They also report that Mr. Orta wins praise from clients for his dedication and “goes above and beyond to get the best result.”

Sophie Thomashausen

Sophie is a Fellow and former Senior Legal Researcher at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. As such, she undertakes research and provides advice on issues related to mining law and policy, resource-related infrastructure, public-private partnerships, and large-scale land investments. Prior to joining CCSI, she was a Law Fellow at the Public International Law and Policy Group. She also spent seven years at Allen & Overy LLP in London and São Paulo where she advised on project finance, asset finance, and other banking transactions in the Middle East, Africa, Kazakhstan, and Brazil. She received an A.B. from Princeton University, an M.A. in law from Cambridge University, England, and an LL.M. from the College of Europe in Belgium. She is admitted to the Bar in New York State (2013) and England and Wales (2007) and is an authorized in-house counsel in Florida (2016).

John Southalan

John researches and teaches in mining regulation and also on human rights and resources. He has published and presented on topics including human rights and business, mining regulation, climate change, Indigenous rights, minerals taxation, CSR regulation, and mining agreements. He is a contributing author for LexisNexis Native Title Service, providing quarterly updates on five chapters including compensation, agreements, prescribed bodies corporate, and native title representative bodies.

John is a barrister in the Western Australian Bar Association, advising and representing clients in litigious and non-litigious matters. His work has also covered mining regulation in advising regulators, mining companies, land owners, communities and non-government organisations. John has assisted various government agencies (in Australia and internationally) on mining law reform. He also has a (part time) appointment as the Independent Examiner of the Australian National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.