Watson Farley & Williams LLP is equipped to advise on land resettlement issues connected to major infrastructure projects and regulatory incident response complaint resolution in the field of ESG including court litigation, mediation and private grievance mechanisms. Sarah Ellington and Nick Walker co-lead the practice. Ellington’s broad practice ranges from transactional due diligence to handling UN complaints. Walker is highlighted for  his expertise in environmental and social monitoring and EU ship recycling regulations. Valentina Keys is a further key name to note.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Sarah Ellington is extremely bright, thorough, committed, hard working and engaged both in the legal profession, with her clients and also her colleagues in the profession. ’

  • ‘Sarah Ellington is a standout ESG expert - she has been working in the space for over a decade across advisory and dispute-related matters on ESG. Her background on some of the world's most novel legal claims means her advice always covers all bases!’

  • ‘The team is focused and knoweldgeable about the issues facing clients in the ESG space. Their advice is commercially useabable and precise, providing clear action plans and risk assessments.’

  • ‘Sarah Ellington is a stand-out partner in the firm, providing commercially useable advice and guidance on difficult ESG and supply chain issues. Her in-depth knowledge, precise and exacting approach is a value add for any client. ’

  • ‘A relatively new firm to us, with good expertise in this area and which has helped us creatively resolve a long running litigation dispute.’

  • ‘We followed Sarah Ellington from DLA Piper to WFW, having worked with her for a number of years. She is a hands on litigation partner, with a great strategic mindset. She has huge experience and expertise in this area. ’

Key clients

  • Star Energy
  • TotalEnergies
  • Sonnedix
  • Navigator Holdings
  • Streem Holding
  • Envision Energy
  • Nexrail
  • MSC
  • Rocky Mountain Institute (“RMI”)
  • Vattenfall
  • Aviation Working Group (AWG)
  • Legal Innovation for Sustainable Investments Foundation (LISI)
  • Low Carbon Investment Management
  • Fairphone
  • Government of Guinea

Work highlights

  • Advising the Republic of Guinea on ESG, Environment and Health and Safety risks and liabilities in connection with the US$15bn Simandou project, the world largest mining and related rail and port infrastructure project.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Sarah Ellington, Nick Walker

Other key lawyers

Valentina Keys, Philippa Beasley