Environment
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Hall of fameBurges Salmon LLP
Specialist in renewable, Net Zero and environmental projects. Covers areas such as wind, solar, hydrogen, wave and tidal, low carbon transport, biomass, energy storage and biofuels. On environment, covers all aspects of regulation particularly contaminated land and environmental enforcement.
Hall of fameBurges Salmon LLP
Partner, head of Nuclear Law unit; advises on all aspects of nuclear energy projects with particular expertise in nuclear law. Head of Projects Department.
Rising stars
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Linklaters LLP
Iyesogie is a Managing Associate and has experience advising clients in relation to a broad range of environmental, social and governance matters. A key aspect of her work involves reviewing and analysing new regulatory developments and providing practical advice for clients on how to navigate their compliance obligations. Iyes also has extensive experience in supporting clients with the development of ESG strategies, including climate transition and decarbonisation plans. She has a wealth of experience in transactional matters, advising regularly on ESG aspects of mergers and acquisitions, public listings and project finance, as well as advising financial institutions on the application of, and compliance with, sustainable finance legislation. Iyesogie is experienced in dealing with anti-bribery and corruption and modern slavery matters in a transactional and advisory context and regularly advises on confidential risk and investigatory matters.
DLA Piper LLP (US)
Ashurst
CMS
Ashurst
Baker McKenzie LLP
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Leading individuals
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Linklaters LLP
Rachel leads the Firm’s global ESG practice. She has deep expertise and exceptional breadth of experience advising on existing and incoming ESG regulation and soft law standards, ESG strategy and disclosures, sustainable finance products and frameworks, ESG governance and risk management and on stakeholder activism, litigation risk and crisis management. Recently she has been recognised in the Fifty Most Influential in Sustainable Finance 2023 list by Financial News, as the go-to advisor on ESG matters by The Lawyer Hot 100 list as well as Next Generation Partner in the Environment and Corporate Governance by Legal 500.
Leigh Day
Dan Leader is a barrister and partner at Leigh Day with 20 years of litigation experience. He specialises in international human rights and environmental litigation with a particular focus on group actions on behalf of claimants from the developing world. He has extensive experience of cases against parent companies, complex group actions and mass tort claims, as well as cross-border disputes and jurisdictional issues. His recent cases include: Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell plc [2021] UKSC 3 Claims on behalf of two Nigerian communities arising from systemic oil pollution by Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary. The Supreme Court reaffirmed and expanded upon parent company liability principles previously set out in Vedanta. Lungowe v Vedanta plc [2019] UKSC 20 (with Martyn Day and Oliver Holland). Claims on behalf of 1,826 Zambian farmers arising out of damage to the environment caused by harmful discharges from the Konkola copper mine. In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court set out the jurisdictional principles in cross-border claims against parent companies. Rihan v EY Global Ltd [2020] EWHC 901 (QB). A successful international whistle-blowing claim on behalf of a former EY partner who refused to sanction a cover up of audit findings of money laundering and conflict minerals in the Dubai Gold trade. AAA v. Unilever plc [2018] EWCA Civ 1532. A case on behalf of 218 Kenyan tea workers who contend that Unilever failed to protect them from the foreseeable risk of ethnic violence in 2007. AAA v. Petra Diamonds [2021]. A parent company case on behalf of 97 Tanzanian clients arising out of serious human rights abuses on the Williamson Diamond Mine. AAA v. Camellia plc [2021]. A parent company case on behalf of 85 Kenyan clients arising out of human rights abuses at the hands of security guards employed by Camellia’s Kenyan subsidiary, Kakuzi. AAA v. Gemfields Ltd [2019]. A claim by 300 individuals for personal injury arising out of serious human rights abuses on and around a ruby mine in northern Mozambique. The Bodo Community v. Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd [2015] (with Martyn Day). A claim by a community of 30,000 Nigerians for compensation and remediation of their lands arising out of extensive oil spills in the Niger Delta which settled for £55m in 2015. Other cases include the “Mau Mau litigation” (Mutua v FCO [2013]) which resulted in reparations for 5,000 victims of colonial era torture and the Baha Mousa Inquiry [2010] into torture by the British Army in Iraq.
Squire Patton Boggs
Georgie Messent leads the environmental and sustainability legal team. She advises clients on environmental risk management in the context of day to day operations, corporate or property transactions, litigation and infrastructure projects. She has been a specialist in this area for more than 20 years and is described in Legal 500 as being 'able to convert the intricacies of environmental law into practical advice'. She is ranked as a leader in her field and is co-author of a Sweet & Maxwell's first edition text entitled Property Transactions: Planning and Environment.Georgie’s recent work includes advising: an oil and gas company on environmental and health & safety (EHS) issues arising during the acquisition of a terminal, filling stations and petrol stations a chemicals manufacturing business on all aspects of EHS issues in site closures and divestments a significant waste & recycling company on incidents across a range of facilities, including a review of operating systems and guidance on interaction with regulators a major retailer on green leases, energy efficiency and carbon cost provisions a specialty chemicals company on the implications of changing permit conditions a manufacturing company on its carbon trading documentation and entitlement to carbon credits after a site closure an insurer and the insured waste management company on nuisance claims by neighbours
Ashurst
Baker McKenzie LLP