Doug is a London-based partner with over 20 years’ experience advising on ESG, sustainability, environment law and corporate governance. Doug is Transactions Co-Lead of our global ESG Risk & Advisory Group.
In addition to advising on a range of ESG and operational risks, Doug has extensive experience in the energy, natural resources, manufacturing, petrochemical, healthcare and financial service sectors.
The legal directories all recognise Doug as one of the leading Environment and ESG lawyers, highlighting his work with corporates and financial institutions on responding to ESG drivers and regulatory compliance, investment diligence and crisis response: Band 1 (Chambers & Partners, UK 2025), Hall of Fame (The Legal 500, 2025) and was awarded 'Lawyer of the Year' by Best Lawyer 2023 for Environment.
- ESG advisory and governance:
- variety of multinationals (public and private) and financial institutions on ESG and sustainability reporting and disclosure obligations (especially in relation to the EU’s and UK’s sustainable finance regimes), voluntary mechanisms and sustainability strategies, goals and marketing
- Brookfield and a number of major asset managers on UK and EU climate change and ESG obligations and related investment diligence programmes – including regulatory trackers and public affairs engagement
- Rio Tinto on UK portion of a global environmental liability and risk audit
- A global tech group on UK, EU and international environmental, climate and safety related matters
- FTSE100 multinational on a ‘root and branch’ corporate governance and compliance review and upgrade, with a focus on global governance, compliance, ESG and ethics programmes
- Energy transition and ESG impacted transactions:
- Suzano on EHS and operational risk aspects of its $3.4bn international tissue joint venture with Kimberly-Clark
- Saint-Gobain on environmental aspects of its $1bn acquisition of Fosroc, a leading global construction chemicals business
- CVC Capital Partners on environmental aspects of its $925m acquisition of Therakos from global speciality pharma company Mallinckrodt
- A European energy player on regulatory aspects on its Dogger Bank investment, the world’s largest offshore wind farm
- Macquarie on energy regulation, renewable incentives and EHS aspects when acquiring, expanding and then disposing of its significant UK solar PV portfolio
- Disputes and crisis management:
- Global agri-business on ESG regulatory and human rights aspects of the defence of two novel ‘parent company liability’ claims alleged human rights wrongdoing in its Kenyan and Malawi overseas subsidiaries
- Trafigura on technical aspects of its defence of the high profile environmental and personal injury claim involving c.30,000 claimants from the Ivory Coast – this long running dispute was one of the largest pieces of environmental litigation ever brought before a UK court
- Major UK logistics company on defending a serious health and safety at work prosecution in the Crown Court
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