Environment
A comprehensive approach to environmental advice.
We help our clients through their crises, ensuring regulatory obligations are fulfilled, reputational damage is controlled and the risk of third-party claims minimised.
We advise on environmental issues arising from major and catastrophic incidents and allegations, including fire and explosions that lead to spillages of oils and other chemicals and airborne toxins and particulates. The impact may be personal injury, damage to third-party property, business interruption, or contamination of air, land or water. We also advise on potential issues in M&A and financing transactions.
As a full-service environmental practice, we advise clients on all aspects of environmental and health and safety regulation, including permitting requirements, operational compliance, energy and carbon emission regimes, investigations and prosecutions, project consents, and the management of pollution and contamination liabilities and remediation programmes.
Our clients include the investors, funders and developers of major energy, industry, mining and infrastructure projects. We have the widest client base of any European nuclear practice, we have advised on the largest offshore wind projects in Europe, and a range of onshore wind and solar projects across the world. We regularly advise on airport, rail, port and defence transactions and projects across the UK and Europe.
Client successes
Advising Toshiba and Westinghouse Electric on the restructuring of the £12bn Moorside nuclear new build project, including agreeing highly complex land arrangements relating to environmental issues arising from more than 60 years’ of nuclear activities at the neighbouring Sellafield site.
Advising Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, two of Canada’s largest pension funds, on an agreement to jointly acquire a majority stake in a global portfolio of wind and solar energy projects valued in excess of $2bn.
Advising Dong Energy on the acquisition of a major offshore wind project in the North Sea, including advice over the entire project development process.
Advising the mining sector of the former German Democratic Republic since Germany’s reunification on all mining activities and licensing procedures for the closure and flooding of open cast mines and the creation of a total of 218 new lakes in Saxony, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt (Europe’s largest environmental and mining project involving investments of around €12bn).
Acting for Equion Energia in a five-month UK High Court trial brought by over 100 landowners in Colombia claiming environmental damage to 73 properties allegedly caused by the construction of the Ocensa oil pipeline.
Regulatory
- Administrative and public law
- Anti-bribery and corruption
- Anti-money laundering
- Constitutional complaints and procedures
- Data protection and privacy
- Defence and export controls
- Environmental, construction and planning law
- Financial services regulation
- Foreign investment regulation
- Human rights
- Low-carbon economy
- Privatisation
- Product regulation
- Public private partnerships (PPP)
- Public procurement
- Regulatory and public affairs
- Sanctions
- State aid
- Trade
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Jonathan Isted Partner
London
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Vanessa Jakovich Partner
London
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Ignacio Borrego Of Counsel
Madrid
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Ana Calvo Senior Associate
Madrid
