Environmental law is both a diverse and a specialised field, involving the anticipation, interpretation and application of the rapidly evolving environmental regime in the UK, Europe and internationally.

This complex area of practice continues to see a growth in legislation stimulated by a socially conscious European Union and public concern, particularly in areas such as climate change, waste, contamination and pollution, which are becoming key areas to work in.

What you can expect

The central focus of environmental law practices in the UK is advising on all aspects of the environmental regime in respect of regulatory compliance and due diligence, industry, and the environmental elements of corporate, banking and property transactions.

The sheer breadth of environmental law today makes this field of practice both distinctive and exciting.

Acting for a wide variety of clients, practitioners will need strong technical skills and a versatile approach. These should be backed up with good knowledge of the law and a willingness to be exposed to both contentious and non-contentious legal matters.

Aspects of your workload may involve:

• discussions with the regulatory agencies or government bodies
• site visits
• detailed research on complex environmental issues
• analysis of legislation and case law
• judging any potential risks
• drafting and negotiating complex legal agreements and contractual terms.

Skills for environmental lawyers

You will need:

• a good understanding of environmental law
• a good understanding of corporate, banking and property structures
• commercial awareness
• good legal research skills
• highly tuned analytical and observational skills
• good teamworking skills
• adaptability
• a capacity for interpreting and applying UK, EU and international legislation
• good decision-making skills.