Stephen is a leading environmental and insurance lawyer, specialising in mitigating ESG liabilities for corporates, lenders and public sector bodies.
Stephen is the most experienced environmental lawyer in Wales. A former Chair of the UK Environmental Law Association, Stephen advises landowners, companies and public sector bodies across Wales on environmental law risks and opportunities, including environmental disputes, land contamination, water pollution, natural capital incentives (e.g. NBB) and climate change. He also specialises in environmental start-ups and has been described as the UK’s most commercial environmental lawyer. He co-founded the Environmental Insurance Market in London in the 1990s and leading environmental search provider, Argyll, in the 2000s. He is a Visiting Fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London.
Expertise
- Environmental law
- Corporate due diligence relating environmental liabilities
- Commercial Property
- Construction, Energy & Projects
- Real Estate
- Social Housing
- Contaminated / brownfield sites
- Remediation
- Green buildings / leases
- Environmental data to support property transactions and development
- Environmental permits / licences
- Environmental insurance claims
- Water pollution
- Air pollution
- Noise pollution
- Climate risk management
Recent work
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Worked on the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill helping BP to quantify its financial provision for the world’s most expensive pollution incident (>$50bn).
The UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA)
Chaired Europe’s leading environmental law professional association – the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA) between 2015-2017. He set up UKELA’s Brexit Task Force to assist the devolved administrations with the management of the complex implications which leaving the EU will have on environmental laws. His leadership of UKELA was recognised by Lord Carnwath as ‘strong and innovative’.
The National Judges College
Presented paper on land contamination to a forum of 125 environmental judges at the National Judges College in Beijing in December 2017.
Languages
- French
