Legal Capture
In the XVIIIth Century, Jean de La Fontaine explained that the argument of the strongest is always the best. The concept of legal capture is somewhat based on this idea that, the use of judicial resources by corporations can lead to a form of capture based on the capacity to use existing laws and regulations as empowering tools to impose specific views and actions.
Legal capture differs from regulatory capture because it does not involve the explicit modification of existing rules, laws and regulations. Instead, it involves, navigating existing laws and regulations in ways that serve commercial interests at the expense of public interest. For example, the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) can have significant impacts on the outcomes of socio-technical controversies (Voisard, 2018). Based on corporate internal documents, it was also found that corporations sometimes choose to willfully break the law because they do not fear legal consequences (Coleman, 2012), or use legal intimidation against whistleblowers (Breggin, 2006).
References
Breggin, P. R. (2006). Court filing makes public my previously suppressed analysis of Paxil’s effects. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 8(1), 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1891/ehpp.8.1.77
Coleman, J. J. (2012). The supply chain of medicinal controlled substances: Addressing the Achilles heel of drug diversion. Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, 26(3), 233–250. https://doi.org/10.3109/15360288.2012.703294
Voisard, A.-M. (2018). Le droit du plus fort; Nos dommages, leurs intérêts (Ecosociété). http://ecosociete.org/livres/le-droit-du-plus-fort