Hall of fameDMH Stallard LLP
Heidi heads up the firm’s planning and environment group which is made up of both planners and solicitors.
Environment and 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 fameStevens & Bolton LLP
Head of environment. Specialising in all aspects of environmental law, in particular, environmental liabilities (including Environmental Liability Directive, water pollution, contaminated land and other environmental damage) and insurance cover and claims for such liabilities.
Rising stars
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Shoosmiths LLP
Joanne is a Principal Associate (Barrister) in regulatory and criminal lawyer, with significant experience of investigations and prosecutions by various regulatory agencies including the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales, the Health and Safety Executive, Local Authorities and OFSTED. She previously worked for the Environment Agency, where she advised on enforcement and dealt with all aspects of prosecutions and civil sanctions. She has a particularly specialised knowledge of environmental law. Joanne has recent experience acting for businesses following significant pollution incidents, including assisting clients with internal investigations, and helping them to submit high-value Enforcement Undertakings (which offer an alternative to prosecution). She also advises clients on compliance with environmental regulation. Since joining Shoosmiths in 2017, Joanne has advised clients following fatal and serious accidents involving employees and customers, businesses facing nuisance complaints, retailers facing prosecution for trading standards offences, and companies who are the subject of allegations of breach of planning control. Joanne qualified as a barrister in 2005 and spent the early part of her career in independent practice. She defended and prosecuted criminal cases in the Magistrates, Crown and appeal courts. She is an accomplished advocate who understands how the criminal justice system operates. Her previous experience prosecuting for the Environment Agency and defending in criminal cases has given her a thorough understanding of regulatory enforcement in practice.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
DMH Stallard LLP
Chloe is a Partner in the Planning & Environment Group based in Gatwick.
Leading individuals
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Shoosmiths LLP
Kirsten Hewson is head of the real estate division at Shoosmiths, responsible for driving forward the strategy and vision of one of the largest real estate practices in the UK. As divisional head, Kirsten manages more than 270 legal advisers, including UK-wide teams in core real estate, construction, planning and real estate litigation. The teams are integrated across offices and managed nationally, so that well-leveraged teams (including relevant specialisms) can be selected to meet precisely the needs of project. This client-centred approach, which encourages both collaboration and flexibility, is frequently cited as a benefit by Shoosmiths’ real estate clients who include developers (residential and commercial), investors, occupiers and institutional lenders. A key focus for the real estate division is the continuing development of integrated solutions to clients, including the innovations and efficiencies (including AI) that clients expect in a changing – and potentially challenging – market. Before being appointed divisional head in 2018, Kirsten led Shoosmiths’ planning, environment and CPO team, doubling its size and gaining a top ten ranking in the prestigious Planning Law survey 2018. She is described in the current edition of Chambers UK as “a seasoned planning lawyer who is commercially-minded." A refreshingly ‘outside-in’ thinker who is not afraid to challenge law firm norms, she is valued by clients - and by Shoosmiths’ leadership team - for her strategic insights.
Blandy & Blandy LLP
Karen Jones is a partner in the Planning and Environmental team at Blandy & Blandy and a highly regarded planning and environmental lawyer with over 30 years' experience. Karen's expertise includes strategic planning advice, planning appeals, public inquiries and environmental law, particularly nature conservation law. She has practised as a parliamentary lawyer and had considerable involvement in The Channel Tunnel Rail Link project. Karen has also worked in Local Government (in roles including interim head of legal and solicitor to the council), where the majority of her projects involved significant planning, environmental and conservation considerations. Karen has published a practitioner's guide, Conservation and Land Use (2000) and written articles for sector journals, including a regular column in Waste Planning, while also featuring in the media. Karen is a legal associate of the Royal Town Planning Institute (LARTPI) and holds both an LLB (Hons) Law and LLM Environmental Law from University College London. She previously taught at the College of Law and has lectured at the University of Reading's renowned School of Real Estate & Planning, part of Henley Business School.
