Global Legal Action Network

What Global Legal Action Network does

Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) is an independent non-profit legal organisation founded in 2017 that combines investigation with strategic litigation to hold states and powerful corporate actors accountable for human rights violations, environmental harms, and abuses in global value chains. Headquartered in London with a regional office in Galway, Ireland, GLAN operates three focus areas: accountability for atrocity crimes, environment and climate change, and abuses in value chains. Its served communities include affected populations in the Caribbean (notably Barbudan land defenders), the Middle East (Palestinian and Israeli-occupation-related cases), Latin America (Colombian mining communities), and Uyghur and other forced-labour supply-chain victims. Rather than delivering legal services directly, GLAN partners with specialised law firms — Bindmans LLP in the UK, KOD Lyons LLP in Ireland, and Justice Chambers in the Caribbean — to execute casework, while coordinating with grassroots organisations, international NGOs, and university human-rights clinics (Irish Centre for Human Rights, Manchester International Law Centre) for evidence gathering and claimant support. The organisation is 100% funded by donations, philanthropy, corporate partnerships, and fundraising events including the London Marathon, with a Justice Network of monthly recurring donors and a newsletter reaching over 5,000 supporters.

Name

Global Legal Action Network

Legal name

Global Legal Action Network (GLAN)

Website

https://glanlaw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and philanthropy: GLAN is a registered charity (No. 1167733) funded entirely through donations from individuals, trusts, foundations, and corporate partners. The organization accepts monthly recurring donations through its Justice Network community of monthly donors, one-time donations, corporate partnerships, and fundraising events including the London Marathon.
2. Corporate partnerships: Corporate partners can support through donations, fundraising campaigns, volunteering, and advocacy. Partners receive public recognition, impact reporting, and staff engagement opportunities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

GLAN is a non-profit legal organisation that pursues innovative cross-border strategic litigation on behalf of affected communities, holding states and powerful actors accountable for human rights violations and environmental harms. Its work combines open-source investigations with multi-jurisdictional court actions, OECD complaints, and policy advocacy across three focus areas: accountability for atrocity crimes, environment and climate change, and abuses in value chains. Services are delivered free of charge to claimants and are funded entirely by donations from individuals, trusts, foundations, and corporate partners.

Product overview

Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) is a non-profit legal organization, not a technology product company. GLAN works with affected communities to pursue innovative legal actions across borders, challenging states and powerful actors involved with systemic injustice. The organization does not offer software products or technology platforms; its services consist of strategic legal litigation, investigations, and advocacy focused on human rights, environmental protection, and corporate accountability. Key focus areas include accountability for atrocity crimes, environment and climate change, and abuses in value chains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Cross-Border Litigation Multi-jurisdictional legal actions brought on behalf of affected communities against states and corporations across the UK, Ireland, the Caribbean, and international forums, covering accountability for atrocity crimes, environment and climate change, and abuses in value chains.
• Open-Source Investigations for Accountability Collaborative open-source investigation methodology developed with Bellingcat to document and analyse evidence supporting war crimes accountability efforts, delivered through co-published reports and evidence packages for prosecutors.
• OECD National Contact Point Complaints Specialised complaint work before OECD National Contact Points against companies linked to human rights and environmental harms, exemplified by the ESB/Cerrejón coal complaint in Ireland and the UK OECD complaint regarding the Cerrejón mine.
• Justice Network (Monthly Donor Community) Recurring monthly donation programme that sustains GLAN's litigation and investigation work, providing supporters with ongoing updates on cases and campaigns through a monthly newsletter reaching over 5,000 engaged supporters.
• Corporate Partnership Programme Structured corporate engagement offering that combines donations, fundraising campaigns, volunteering, and advocacy, with partners receiving public recognition, impact reporting, and staff engagement opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• First ever court case worldwide concerning alleged corporate complicity in Israeli crimes to conclude in favour of those who brought it
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Irish Uyghur Cultural Association (IUCA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026Co-filed complaint targeting SHEIN and Temu Irish subsidiaries for alleged Uyghur forced labour money laundering offences. Joint advocacy for ban on forced-labour cotton imports.
• Good Law ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Partnership for climate justice case challenging UK government's climate framework. Supporting claimants Save Hemsby Coastline, Tipping Point, and SOS UK in judicial review.
• Al-HaqcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2023Joint legal challenge to UK government over weapons exports to Israel. Filed High Court action and pursued appeals regarding arms sales and F-35 components.
• Sadaka – Ireland Palestine AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2023Joint legal action against Airbnb's Irish subsidiary for alleged complicity in war crimes linked to Israeli settlements. Filed criminal complaint with Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and pursued judicial review proceedings.
• BellingcatcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Justice and accountability project supporting national and international prosecutors gathering open-source evidence of war crimes. Co-published reports on open-source investigation methodology.
• World Uyghur Congress (WUC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021Partnership to obtain authoritative legal opinion on treatment of Uyghurs. Joint petition to UK and US customs authorities to ban imports of forced-labour cotton.
• Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021Partnership with WUC and UHRP on legal opinion concluding treatment of Uyghurs constitutes crimes against humanity and genocide.
• AIDA (Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership on OECD complaint regarding Cerrejón coal mine harms in Colombia.
• CAJAR (Colectivo de Abogados 'José Alvear Restrepo')minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Colombian human rights group representing communities affected by Cerrejón mine.
• CINEP (Centro de Investigación y Educación)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Colombian NGO partner in Cerrejón coal mine complaint.
• Christian Aid IrelandminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partner in Irish OECD National Contact Point complaint regarding ESB's relationship with Cerrejón coal mine.
• ABColombiaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021UK-based partner on Colombia human rights issues.
• Arbeitsgruppe Schweiz Kolumbien (Ask!)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Swiss partner on Cerrejón mine complaints.
• Irish Centre for Human RightscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner for student placement schemes linking students to GLAN's international legal actions through legal and administrative support. GLAN is based at this location.
• Manchester International Law CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner for student placement schemes providing research support while students gain meaningful work experience.
• HaMoked – Center for the Defence of the IndividualcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIsraeli human rights organization with legal standing to inquire about Palestinians held by Israel. Coordinated formal inquiry on Mohammed Shorrab's disappearance.
• Transnational Legal CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of organizations working together on transnational legal actions for accountability.
• A&L GoodbodyOthersAirbnb's solicitors notified of the relevance of Airbnb's activities in Israeli settlements to their anti-money laundering obligations.
• PWCOthersAirbnb's accountants notified regarding anti-money laundering obligations related to Israeli settlements activities.
• Citibank (Dublin)OthersAirbnb's bank notified of anti-money laundering obligations requiring them to report suspected money laundering to authorities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ClientEarth: Environmental law charity using litigation and advocacy to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Most directly comparable to GLAN on the environment/climate focus area and on the use of law as a primary intervention tool.
• Good Law Project: UK-based litigation NGO that runs crowd-funded strategic cases against government and corporate misconduct, including the climate-justice case co-filed with GLAN against the UK government's climate framework. Direct peer on UK-focused strategic litigation and crowd-funded case model.
• European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR): Berlin-based independent legal NGO that pursues strategic litigation on international crimes, human rights and environmental harms, often in partnership with affected communities. Closely comparable to GLAN in mission, cross-border operating model and reliance on partner counsel in case jurisdictions.
• Center for Constitutional Rights: US-based legal advocacy organisation that pursues strategic litigation on international human rights, racial justice and government accountability, often partnering with grassroots groups. Comparable to GLAN in using litigation as a tool for systemic change rather than individual representation.
• EarthRights International: Non-profit that combines investigation, legal action and advocacy to hold corporations and governments accountable for human rights and environmental abuses, particularly in value chains. Highly comparable to GLAN on atrocity-crimes accountability, environment/climate and abuses-in-value-chains focus areas.

Others

• Bellingcat: Open-source investigations organisation and named GLAN partner on the Justice and Accountability Project for Ukraine and beyond. Not a direct competitor but a tightly coupled ecosystem participant whose open-source methodology underpins GLAN's atrocity-crimes evidence base.

Broad incumbents

• Amnesty International: Large global human rights organisation with a much broader research, campaigning and litigation portfolio than GLAN. Comparable as an incumbent in the same advocacy space, but operates across many more thematic areas and geographies with a much larger permanent staff and membership base.
• Earthjustice: US-based environmental law organisation that uses litigation to protect natural resources and address climate change. Comparable to GLAN on environment/climate litigation but operates primarily in US courts with a much larger staff and case docket.
• Human Rights Watch: Global human rights organisation known for investigative reporting and advocacy, with growing engagement in strategic litigation. Overlaps with GLAN on atrocity-crimes accountability and corporate accountability, but is research-led rather than litigation-led and substantially larger.

Emerging players

• Anti-Slavery International: UK-registered charity working on modern slavery and forced labour through advocacy, research and legal action. Comparable to GLAN's value-chain focus, particularly the Uyghur forced-labour/SHEIN/Temu matter, though smaller and more campaign-oriented than litigation-led.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/glanlaw
• Xx.com/GLAN_LAW
• Facebookfacebook.com/glanlaw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/global-legal-action-network-glan

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Global Legal Action Network