Welcome to the first-ever Energy Yearbook from Legal 500 and Legal Business.
This supplement brings together analysis of the key issues across the energy market – with a particular focus on the topic on everyone’s lips, energy transition – as well as interviews with leading figures in the sector.
For close to two years now, energy sector commentators have spoken of a ‘trilemma’: a struggle to balance the three competing imperatives of energy transition, security, and affordability. Of these three, energy transition arguably looms largest. For John Dewar, project, energy and infrastructure finance partner at Milbank and Legal 500 Hall of Famer for power: ‘The push to the energy transition has been the most disruptive change in the energy market in decades.’
What made you decide to become a lawyer and, once you’d made that decision, why energy?
I decided to become a lawyer in my early teens, through watching courtroom dramas on TV. As it turned out, however, I have only appeared in court once and that was sitting on the bench (another story!). Becoming a renewable energy lawyer was somewhat fortuitous. I had been doing fairly high-value commercial property work for a number of years, and a developer who had worked on early wind farms in Cornwall and Wales wanted to try and develop the first ones in Scotland. He asked his English lawyer who to use and they recommended a large Scottish law firm. After a short period, the developer decided that firm wasn’t showing enough interest in his work so turned to someone in Scotland he had done a joint venture with and asked him. I was that company’s lawyer and I was recommended. The developer made an appointment, ca+me into my office and asked (this was 1993) if I knew anything about wind farms. Being honest, I said no. He then asked if I would be interested in learning, and I said it sounded fascinating. The rest is history and 30 years on I am still learning! Continue reading “Energy perspectives: David Bone”
Since 2021, the Legal 500 Green Guide has been highlighting the law firms making significant contributions to the green transition around the world, be it through client work, external engagements, internal initiatives, or all of the above.
Continue reading “A clean break – how law firms are helping to power the energy transition”
What made you decide to become a lawyer and why did you choose to go into infrastructure transactions?
I chose to study law with thoughts of becoming a barrister. While at university I was introduced to City law firms through the milk rounds and was drawn to the emphasis on working as a team, opportunities to work on headline deals, international secondment opportunities… and the law school grants! Continue reading “Energy perspectives: Clare Burgess”
The Legal 500 energy rankings cover four core areas of the market – mining and minerals; oil and gas; power (including electricity, nuclear and renewables); and water, listing 70 firms and 150 individuals in total.
At COP28 last year, all parties acknowledged that renewable and low-carbon hydrogen will be an essential factor in meeting global energy needs while decarbonising industry. With law firms advising clients on green hydrogen projects which seek to replace conventional fuels within heavy transport, thermal power stations, domestic heat grids, and industrial activity, hydrogen has the potential to make a vital contribution toward decarbonising hard-to electrify processes.
Continue reading “Stepping on the gas – the factors behind the rise of green hydrogen”
What made you decide to become a lawyer and, once you’d made that decision, why energy?
I chose to do law at university as I felt it would be a good base for a future career choice, whether that was law or otherwise. Even the prospect of doing a degree was pretty daunting at first, as the first in a generation to do so. However, I genuinely loved it, particularly all things land law, and it was therefore a natural career choice for me to secure a training contract – which was with TLT! Continue reading “Energy perspectives: Maria Connolly”
Please see below for a link to an online pdf of the Private Client 2024.
Private Client Yearbook 2024 complete pdf link Continue reading “Private Client Yearbook 2024 – online PDF”
As familial relationships become increasingly complex, the law governing these relationships does too. With the idea of the family unit extending to include unmarried, cohabiting couples and nontraditional routes to parenthood, the law surrounding and protecting all families is shifting to reflect this.
Unmarried couples were declared the fastest growing family type in the UK in 2019, with the Office for National Statistics reporting a 25.8% increase in cohabiting couples from 2008 to 2018. Despite this, and despite the fact that other countries such as New Zealand and Australia have provisions for so-called ‘de-facto’ relationships, there are currently no protections for couples in this position in the UK.
Continue reading “Breaking down silos: family law in the UK in 2024 and beyond”
