The planning and environment practice handles a wide variety of work, and advises mainly on issues of compliance, management and liability, as well as the environmental aspects of corporate transactions. Clients range from governments and public authorities to industrial and commercial companies, property and investment companies, utilities, and banks and other financial institutions. As a trainee, you will be able to gain an insight as to how government policies and clients’ commercial interests interplay.

There is a potential increase in demand for this type of work as many major businesses place addressing climate change and adopting environmentally sustainable policies as one of their priorities. Recycling and waste management has become more complex with advancement of technology and business within this sector is growing.

A hot topic for discussion is nuclear energy. With the planned development of a nuclear plant, law firms contribute by assisting companies to negotiate the environmental regulations and prepare applications for nuclear development opportunities.

Realities of this practice

There will be contentious and non-contentious work. Contentious work ranges from judicially reviewing local authorities concerning planning and environment matters to compulsory purchase inquiries and inquiries related to highly controversial government schemes. Hence, lawyers should be prepared to handle planning inquiries, deal with any protestor action, and defend any legal challenges that might arise. It is likely for trainees to be able to attend court and inquiry hearings during their time in this seat.

Non-contentious work might involve drafting agreements between developers and local authorities, applying for environment permits, establishing internal monitoring and reporting structures for environmental management, and selecting, instructing and defining the terms of reference for environmental consultants. You may also have the opportunity of advising high profile clients on potential environmental liabilities, such as land contamination.

In some firms, the planning and environment practice may also be heavily be involved in supporting the Real Estate, Corporate and Finance departments in transactions involving planning and environment issues. This includes the negotiation of environmental warranties and indemnities in acquisitions and disposals, and environmental issues in the context of banking, construction and project finance.

What trainees do

A trainee should be prepared to do a lot of research work, and unravel the complicated technical environmental issues. This would involve discovering about the environment regulations and directives that are in place. With advancement in research, legislation constantly changes so it is imperative to be up to date. Given that EU Directives play a major role in influencing UK environmental law, it is essential to maintain a broad perspective on European law. A trainee may also have the opportunity to visit waste dumps or reservoirs to conduct due diligence, so do keep in mind that this might not necessarily be a desk-bound discipline.