Experience
Michelle has extensive contentious and non contentious experience including: water; waste; sustainability and climate change; contaminated land; redevelopment; biodiversity; nuclear liabilities; packaging and producer responsibility; environmental permitting and consenting; ESG; environmental reporting and greenwashing.
She advises clients across all sectors including: energy and utilities (including nuclear); retail and consumer; real estate; manufacturing and industrial; banking and finance; and waste.
Michelle has supported numerous clients (both UK-based and global) during corporate and real estate acquisitions, divestments and IPOs through her advice on environmental due diligence, allocation of environmental risk and liabilities and operational compliance.
As well as representing FTSE 100 companies she also advises smaller businesses and supports charitable entities on a pro bono basis.
Memberships
- UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA)
- Chartered Institute of Wastes Management (CIWM)
Recent cases
- Challenging the Environment Agency on its approach to recovery and disposal operations relating to the use of soils for a development platform at a former processing site being redeveloped including reliance on the CL:AIRE Code of Practice in relation to excavated materials being reused on site in place of clean imported fill in order to make significant costs savings as part of infrastructure works;
- Working with the internal product development team and buyers for a luxury food and drink client in preparing for changes to Extended Producer Responsibility, including developing its strategy for reporting;
- Advising an infrastructure client on the environmental permitting and licencing requirements for a £1.2bn upgrade project;
- Preparing a waste recycling strategy for a retail client and implementation into its agreements with concession partners across all of its UK stores;
- Advising a large international manufacturing client on its alternative fuel strategy and approach to the environmental regulators within the UK and EU in relation to the impact on environmental permitting and emissions trading;
- Working with a national government to assess its Nationally Determined Contributions and obligations under the Paris Agreement;
- Advising on the environmental aspects of a nationally significant and regionally important Hydrogen project;
- Advising on the tradeable certificates which are awarded for the supply of sustainable renewable fuel under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation;
- Challenging the Environment Agency on its interpretation of technical legal terms derived from the European Revised Waste Framework Directive.