[Recap] Steven Donziger: From Climate Lawyer to Corporate Political Prisoner
On Wednesday, November 20th CECE and WCL’s Program on Environmental and Energy Law hosted Steven Donziger for a conversation of his life as a human rights lawyer turned corporate political prisoner.
The conversation between Steven Donziger and CECE Director, Dr. Dana R. Fisher, began with a short intro video describing his legal battles with Chevron. Donziger represented over 30,000 farmers and indigenous peoples in Ecuador in a court case against Chevron (formally Texaco) for environmental harm and health problems caused by oil drilling. Donziger and his team won over $9 billion in damages for the plaintiffs. In response to this decision, Chevron sued Donziger in the US for corruption. Donziger’s case was heard without a jury, and he was charged with criminal contempt of court, again without a jury. Donziger was placed under house arrest for over two years, spent over six weeks in jail for these charges, and was disbarred. To this day, the plaintiffs in Ecuador have not received a single cent of the damages owed.
Donziger spoke about how our current system allowed a corporation to pressure our courts into letting this happen and when asked how we might be able to fix it, Donziger allowed that there is no easy answer. Instead, he argued, the change must come from grassroots movements and people organizing. He pointed out that courts tend to follow society, not lead. The people have the power to drive change.
He also fears further criminalization of activism and advocacy with the upcoming Trump administration. To this, he cautioned the audience to be smart about protests and to always go in groups and build solidarity throughout communities.
Donziger is a big proponent in using the media to your advantage. Media attention played a large part in the strategy against Chevron. One of the most effective methods they used was to write press releases like news articles to make them as easy to read as possible. Additionally, they circulated these press releases wherever they could, especially among corporate recipients. Today, Donziger also believes that understanding social media is critical to spreading your message.
One common note in all of Donziger’s points is the importance of staying optimistic. He believes that whenever you face adversity, you can flip it around and make the best out of it. Remaining optimistic and surrounding yourself with community is how Donziger survived his legal ordeal.
