Harvard Law School Professor Charles J. Ogletree is leading a team of lawyers and professors in preparing a lawsuit to gain reparations for the descendants of American slaves.

The group includes prominent lawyers such as Johnnie Cochran, Alexander J. Pires, who won a $1 billion lawsuit for black farmers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and J.L. Chestnutt, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s former attorney.

Pires said the attempt to secure reparations for victims of slavery was a logical next step in attempts to mend past injustices with legal settlements.

"This stems from the discussion of Holocaust cases, Japanese internment, black farmers. We've got a lot of people with experience in civil rights law ready to take this on and tell history more honestly," he said.

Ogletree, who is Climenko professor of law, brings an academic perspective to the lawsuit.

"Professor Ogletree is a man of immense respect in the legal community. He is a wealth of knowledge and experience, as well as someone who has great prestige in the legal profession," Chestnutt said. Ogletree could not be reached for comment last week.

Chestnutt said the legal team faces enormous obstacles, from figuring out whom to sue to figuring out whom to pay.

The case is "complex almost beyond imagination," Chestnutt said. "Who would you sue? Is it the federal government, the states, businesses that have profited from slavery? Even the statute of limitations becomes an issue. Was slavery too long ago?"