Planet Earth needs its own lawyer. James Thornton is that lawyer.

Who will stop the planet from committing ecological suicide? The UN? Governments? Activists? Corporations? Engineers? Scientists? Whoever, environmental laws need to be enforceable and enforced. Step forward a fresh breed of passionately purposeful environmental lawyers. They provide new rules to legislatures, see that they are enforced, and keep us informed.

At the head of this new legal army stands James Thornton, who takes governments to court, and wins. And his client is the Earth.

With Client Earth, we travel from Alaska to China, from Poland to Ghana, to see how citizens can use public-interest law to protect their planet. 1970s America saw lawyers first band together to battle for the environment. This book tracks that phenomenon from its origins and out across the globe. Lawyers who take the Earth as their client are exceptional and inspirational. They give us back our hope.