Within the framework of critical state soil mechanics, a three-dimensional (3D) two-surface plasticity model for saturated cohesive soils is herein developed based on a mixed hardening rule, which is a multi-axial generalization of the well-known Masing's concept. The two-dimensional formulation of this model has been verified with respect to the triaxial test results of clay samples under undrained cyclic loads (reported in a separate paper). The developed 3D plasticity model together with a semi-empirical method for computing excess pore water pressure is implemented into a finite element program ABAQUS. This program is used to analyze displacements, stress distributions and pore water pressure distribution in a clay layer subjected to the surface loading of a strip footing. It is seen that the predicted response of the clay layer subjected to the specified loads by the finite element model shows a reasonable degree of accuracy.