Davitt Jones Bould (DJB), the UK’s largest firm to specialise entirely in real estate law, has appointed senior lawyers Andrew Waite and Stephen Sykes as Consultants, significantly expanding the capacity of its environmental team. 

Senior duo Andrew Waite and Stephen Sykes join real estate law firm

The move comes amidst increasing focus in the sector on ESG, climate change and sustainability, leading to growing demand for specialist lawyers able to advise on issues such as contaminated land, water and waste management, air pollution and pollution control law, radioactive substances and nuclear law, nuisance and neighbour issues, community protection notices, nature conservation and environmental permitting.

Andrew Waite has spent several decades specialising in environmental law, with experience spanning energy, oil and gas, telecommunications, infrastructure and environmental issues in real estate and corporate transactions. He has advised the UK Government, European Commission and has a strong international focus, providing legal advice to inward investors on environmental issues relating to investments in the UK, and working with overseas law firms to advise on projects and operations in different jurisdictions around the world. Andrew has been recognised as a leading environmental expert in legal directories and provides clear, commercially relevant advice to clients.

Stephen Sykes has spent thirty years specialising in environmental, climate and ESG law. He is one of the UK’s most business-minded environmental lawyers. As well as founding and being legal director of a market-leading environmental insurance MGA, he has chaired, established and accelerated the growth of several environmental enterprises in the data, insurance and consulting sectors, including the environmental search provider, Argyll Environmental. He was closely involved in developing the Law Society’s new guidance on climate change for solicitors, published in April 2023.

Both Andrew and Stephen have held prominent positions in the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA), a leading membership organisation dedicated to improving environmental law in the UK. Andrew was one of the co-founders of UKELA and is a former secretary. Stephen is a former chair, vice chair and one of a handful of honorary members.

With Andrew and Stephen now on board DJB is able to offer an expanded range of specialist environmental law services to clients, including advising on:

DJB’s existing clients in the environmental space include Natural England and the Environment Agency.

Commenting on the two appointments, Madeleine Davitt, Senior Partner at Davitt Jones Bould, said:

“Andrew and Stephen represent the gold standard of environmental law specialists so we’re thrilled to welcome them to Davitt Jones Bould. Our lawyers advise on some of the most complex and contentious environmental issues facing organisations today, and these new appointments mean we are even better equipped to cover the entire spectrum of environmental legal matters and respond to the increasing demand for expert lawyers in this area of substantial growth. We recognise that our clients need legal advice which is relevant to their business needs, and both Andrew and Stephen bring a highly pragmatic, commercial approach that focuses on solving problems and helping clients move their business forward without getting bogged down in legal technicalities.”