Environment Senior Associate

Description:

Pinsent Masons is seeking a qualified Environment Lawyer to join their market-leading Environment Practice in one of their UK offices, ideally located in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, or Birmingham. The role requires strong experience in both providing strategic environmental advice to clients and drafting and negotiating contracts. A particular focus is placed on candidates with expertise in contentious environmental work, including environmental litigation.

This is an excellent opportunity to work across a diverse range of environmental and regulatory matters, both contentious and non-contentious, throughout the UK, alongside a national team of senior specialists.

Key Responsibilities:

• Providing strategic environmental advice on regulatory issues such as remediation liability, nuclear regulation, water licensing, waste management, and environmental permitting.

• Drafting and negotiating contractual documentation in the environmental sector, especially for corporate, property, restructuring, and finance teams.

• Assisting clients with regulatory investigations and responding to civil penalty notices.

• Offering advice on net zero, carbon, biodiversity, and natural capital, including offsetting and EU/UK ETS compliance.

• Supporting clients on environmental aspects of major infrastructure projects, such as carbon capture and storage, renewable energy, and climate change resilience.

• Advising a variety of clients, including developers, energy companies, and local authorities, on environmental issues associated with land acquisitions and contaminated land.

Key Clients:

• bp

• Drax Power Limited

• Balfour Beatty

• E.ON

• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

• Viridor

• FCC

• ENVA

• Motor Fuel Group

• Heidelberg

Work Highlights:

• Advising bp on environmental aspects of the Net Zero Teesside CCUS DCO project.

• Advising Motor Fuel Group on the environmental aspects of acquiring 337 petrol forecourts from Morrisons.

• Providing support for a multi-landowner regenerative farming project designed to increase land condition and generate natural capital outcomes.

• Advising developers and landowners on environmental enforcement, litigation, and civil sanction risk during construction and engineering activities.

Candidate Requirements:

• At least 7 years of PQE with a strong client-focused approach.

• Experience in contentious environmental law and environmental litigation.

• Ability to manage client relationships and develop business.

• Strong academic background and outgoing personality.

• Technically excellent and commercially aware, with an interest in supervising and developing junior team members.

What Pinsent Masons Offers:

• A market-leading, dynamic global team.

• A comprehensive training and career development programme.

• Opportunities to take on early responsibility and develop client relationships.

• A supportive and inclusive workplace culture that values diversity and inclusion.

About the Firm: Pinsent Masons is a global 100 law firm with over 3,800 employees across 28 locations. The firm has received numerous accolades, including being named Law Firm of the Year by Legal Business and winning the FT’s most innovative law firm in Europe.

About Pinsent Masons: Pinsent Masons values diversity and inclusion and is committed to creating a workplace where all talent can succeed. The firm encourages applications from all suitably qualified candidates, regardless of ethnicity, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other protected characteristics.