Some of the biggest names on the international law scene are likely to figure in an investigation aimed at naming and shaming firms doing business in Burma, the Gazette can reveal.

Pressure group Burma Campaign UK (BCUK) said this week that it is already ‘actively investigating’ one major UK law firm it believes is advising clients in Burma.

The campaign has also collected evidence, seen by the Gazette, that 14 of the world’s 100 biggest law firms have recently advised, or are currently advising, clients in Burma.

The campaign says that, by trading or investing in Burma, companies are directly or indirectly funding the military junta - condemned internationally for human rights violations - and therefore the suppression of the Burmese people.

BCUK will pressure law firms to stop doing business in the country or be named publicly on the campaign’s ‘dirty list’. Updated today, the list names around 150 non-Burmese companies known to be active in the country. Companies are removed from the list if they cease trading in Burma.

‘Law firms facilitating trade and investment in Burma are effectively funding Burma’s murderous regime,’ said Johnny Chatterton, campaigns officer at BCUK. ‘Up until now the campaign’s focus has been on investors, but the role of those facilitating investment behind the scenes will face increasing scrutiny in the coming months.’

Burma has been under military rule since a coup in 1962. The present junta, formed in 1988, has repeatedly used deadly force to suppress protests, resulting in the deaths of thousands. Reports by the UN, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have all condemned human rights violations in the country, and in 2005 the US called on the UN to intervene.

Around 10 people were killed when Buddhist monks led anti-government protests in September 2007.

BCUK’s stated aim is to ‘achieve the restoration of human rights and democracy in Burma’ by discouraging trade and investment in the country, political lobbying on a national and international level, and raising public awareness. It has mounted sustained campaigns against oil companies, clothes manufacturers, tour operators and insurance companies.