Planning
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 famePinsent Masons LLP
Iain is a Partner and leads our Planning Environment Energy and Infrastructure consenting practice. Iain focuses exclusively on planning and related environmental law matters. Iain advises a range of private and public sector organisations on all aspects of planning law, including: strategy setting, policy promotion, environmental impact and strategic environmental impact assessment, major projects, infrastructure agreements and planning obligations, judicial review and statutory challenges, enforcement proceedings and project managing major public inquiries. Recent projects have included: major residential led and mixed use regeneration schemes, urban extension and greenfield development proposals, garden city proposals, new stadia and sporting developments, retail and leisure development, and infrastructure projects.
Hall of famePinsent Masons LLP
Partner, Head of Infrastructure Planning & Government Affairs
Rising stars
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Mishcon de Reya LLP
Tom Barton is a Managing Associate in the Planning Team in the Real Estate department. He has experience of advising clients on a range of town and country planning and highway law matters with a particular focus on advising on planning related matters associated with the acquisition and disposal of established properties and development sites. He also has expertise in the promotion of compulsory purchase orders, objecting to planning applications (including development consent orders), negotiating s106 agreements for large scale developments, defending planning enforcement actions and appealing against the refusal of planning applications, including public inquiries. Tom has considerable experience in drafting and negotiating agreements under s106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and s177/ s278 of the Highways Act 1980. Tom prides himself on giving practical and commercial advice always focussing on achieving the best possible outcome for clients. Tom has experience of instructing communications teams to engage with both local and political stakeholders. He is a member of the Town and Country Planning Association.
Dentons
Rachael acts for both public and private sector clients and advises on all aspects of planning law, with a particular focus on providing strategic advice on large-scale residential led developments, elder care, negotiating and drafting planning agreements, judicial review, public inquiry work and advising on the Community Infrastructure Levy. Before joined the Firm in 2013, Rachael worked for four and a half years as a lawyer in Australia specializing in planning and environment work. Rachael was listed as a Legal 500 rising star for Planning in 2019 and in the 2020 Newington Communications Women of Influence list for the property, planning and built environment sector.
Pinsent Masons LLP
Ashurst
Ashurst
Dentons
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Howard Kennedy LLP
Jade Chalmers is a solicitor specialising in all planning matters for a wide range of residential and commercial property developers, leading house builders, property companies, investment funds, and high-net-worth individuals. Jade advises on complex s.106 agreements, planning applications, the Community Infrastructure Levy regulations, highway agreements, planning appeals, listed buildings and conservation areas. She also advises on the planning and environmental aspects of major property and corporate transactions.
Mishcon de Reya LLP
Daniel is Of Counsel in the Planning and Environment Group. He is experienced in handling complex and high profile developments and property deals, working with master developers and major property owners as well as acting for a range of investors and retail occupiers. Typically this kind of work covers planning agreements, applications and appeals (including environmental impact assessments), inquiry work, judicial review and enforcement. Daniel also advises on compulsory purchase, highways, environment and related public law. Daniel began his career in the public sector – as a trainee at Warwickshire County Council and then as a principal solicitor for East Cambridgeshire District Council.
Dentons
Michele is a member of the Planning and Public Law team. She focuses on negotiating and drafting planning and highways agreements, town center regeneration and redevelopment schemes, urban extensions, compulsory purchase orders, road closure orders, highways issues, judicial review, public inquiry work and enforcement issues.
Town Legal LLP
Town Legal LLP
Leading individuals
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Addleshaw Goddard
Heads Addleshaw Goddard’s planning team and leads the housing group. Advises developers, funders and public sector clients on planning, compulsory purchase and compensation law. Particular specialisms are the retail, housing and rail sectors. Work includes reviewing and de-risking planning application documents, particularly environmental statements, negotiating section 106 agreements and managing public inquiries whether in the context of an appeal, call-in or compulsory purchase order. Marnix has led teams in relation to major city centre mixed use schemes, tall building and retail inquiries and is currently leading teams advising on major housing developments, including a number of high profile PRS developments, objections to development consent and Transport and Works Act orders and major retail schemes.
Charles Russell Speechlys LLP
Claire specialises in planning, highways and compulsory purchase law. She acts for developers on mixed use urban regeneration projects within and outside London and for landowners and developers on strategic land and housing sites. She also advises authorities, developers and occupiers on the promotion of, or objection to, compulsory purchase orders and other public law powers.Claire writes frequently for Estates Gazette, Planning Magazine and Property Week. She is a member of the City of London Law Society Planning and Environment Sub-Committee.Experience: advising the Church Commissioners for England on major residential-led urban extensions in Hereford, Ely and Arun; acting for major developers on mixed use schemes in the City of London, Westminster, Camden, Islington and Lambeth; assisting ITV plc obtain planning permission for a new headquarters and residential development on the South Bank, London; advising Helical plc on the development of their portfolio of high end retirement villages.
Lewis Silkin
Sara is a planning partner within the Real Estate Department and has over 20 years’ commercial experience.She advises on all aspects of planning and specialises in major re-development and urban regeneration projects. Sara acts for a wide range of clients including developers, housing associations, local authorities as well as high net worth individuals. She is a committee member of the City of London Law Society Planning and Environmental Committee.
Mishcon de Reya LLP
Anita is a Partner and Head of Planning in the Real Estate department. The Planning team advises leading commercial and residential property developers, property companies, investment funds and high net worth individuals on a broad range of planning matters. Anita advises clients on strategic planning approaches to maximise value, create flexibility and minimise risk and development costs. She finds solutions to complex planning issues and regularly advises on planning appeals and challenges, planning, highway and development agreements, community infrastructure levy, assets of community value, planning policy, environmental impact assessments, listed buildings, planning enforcement, town and village greens, CPOs, certificates of lawfulness and other public law matters.
Dentons
Roy is a partner in the Planning and Public Law team, bringing his experience of working on regeneration projects within local government and as a consultant to his legal practice. He advises on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious planning for complex housing, fracking and mixed-uses development, including environmental assessment, highways law and judicial review. He is also a Solicitor Advocate with higher rights of audience, and a specialist in Community Infrastructure Levy, EIA/ SEA, viability, Local Plans and related hearings and examinations.
Pinsent Masons LLP
Richard is a partner who specialises in planning, compulsory purchase and the environment. He advises on the UK’s largest commercial and residential developments, together with energy and infrastructure schemes. He is consistently rated one of the UK’s leading planning and environment lawyers. He works internationally as well as in the UK. He has a wide experience of planning and environmental matters and is a regular conference speaker and author of articles in this area. In 2012 Richard was recognised in the Infrastructure and Energy section of The Lawyer magazine’s Hot 100 and in 2014 was voted one of the top 5 Planning Solicitors in the UK in the Annual Planning Magazine Survey.
Town Legal LLP
Pinsent Masons LLP
Pinsent Masons LLP
Nicholle is a partner with extensive experience advising on planning, compulsory purchase and environment legal issues on a wide range of UK and international development and regeneration projects. She has a particularly strong practice in London, the Middle East (having spent over 2.5 years in Dubai advising on a wide variety of matters across the Mena region) and Far East. Nicholle is a solicitor advocate and has a keen interest in sustainability, and established and has chaired a Middle East corporate responsibility and sustainability group. Nicholle has excellent experience of major tall buildings, residential and commercial developments. She specialises in the real estate, hotels, retail and leisure sectors. Highlights include the £4bn metropolitan regeneration project at Stratford City and the London 2012 Olympic Park Athletes’ Village including drafting and negotiating the planning agreements and advising on compulsory purchase issues. Nicholle has advised on major redevelopment projects at Kings Cross and St Pancras, Crystal Palace, the former Young’s Ram Brewery site in Wandsworth, the Thames Tideway Tunnel and various major London and international developments.
Brecher LLP