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#Environmental law: area of practice

It s important for a trainee joining an environmental team to understand in advance what falls under the environmental banner in their firm.

Long gone are the days when this area of law was viewed by clients and colleagues alike as a domain for tree huggers. The business world has a growing awareness of the challenges and opportunities of climate change and the low carbon economy and turns increasingly to environmental lawyers to provide strategic and regulatory advice.

Fast-changing legislation

At its heart there is something of a paradox. On the one hand, the environmental lawyer needs to be a real specialist in complex and fast-changing regulations; on the other, he or she is perhaps one of the last bastions of general practice surviving in a large commercial law firm – requiring the practitioner to have a working knowledge of commercial, corporate, litigation and property law.

Environmental law covers a wide variety of legislation, sectors and work areas. There is no set definition of what it encompasses and different firms will apply different interpretations in the way they structure their departments. Renewable energy, for instance, an area that my own firm ranks as an environmental specialism, can be handled by other firms through their commercial or project teams. Hence it's important for a trainee joining an environmental team to understand in advance what falls under the environmental banner in their particular firm to gain an accurate idea of what the six-month seat will entail.

The work of an environment law solicitor

Work will certainly include: advising on pollution and contamination; carrying out due diligence reviews in corporate and property transactions; negotiating environmental liability apportionment provisions; and advising on licensing, waste management, producer responsibility and (increasingly) carbon issues. The environmental team may also have a close involvement in a range of commercial contracts that have sustainability aspects (such as biomass supply, renewable power and facilities management agreements); civil claims and criminal prosecutions; habitats and environmental impact assessments; and sustainable construction and property management. Most firms will have a highly specialist area or two in the environmental field that it has deep expertise in – anything from protection of crested newts through to the intricacies of a pyrolysis project – and these should provide trainees with the opportunity to acquire in-depth knowledge in a few areas.

Clients will range from small start up companies with a new environmental technology through to multinational groups and government organisations. There will also be a number of individuals, often directors of companies, seeking advice on potential personal liability under a range of environmental laws. Advising colleagues in other departments on environmental issues gives trainees a great opportunity to forge important relationships across the firm. Working hours will vary – long hours are required when involved in a large corporate or property transaction or due diligence review that needs to be completed by a tight deadline.

Recession-proof?

This area of law is partially cushioned against – but is not immune to – recessionary pressures. Corporate and property support work reduced in proportion to deal flow in 2009 and lack of finance affected many renewables projects during this period. However the regulatory focus and breadth of client and scope of work does provide a steady flow of instructions for the environmental practitioner even in difficult economic times.

As a trainee

Environmental trainees will spend much of their time researching legal issues, reviewing due diligence and disclosure documents and environmental searches, attending (and writing up) client meetings and closely supporting the other members of the environmental team. There can be limited opportunities to draft documents in the environmental trainee seat and this is one objective that a trainee would be well advised to establish at the outset with his or her supervisor.

Types of law practised

Good environmental law solicitors have…