Environment law is bursting out of its traditional confinement in planning and compliance and it is the sheer breadth of environmental law practice at Matrix that is so distinctive and exciting. Our members have been involved in the key cases that are mapping out the future of environmental law at all levels:
- Domestically, in challenges to decisions by the Secretary of State and local planning authorities to grant planning permission in controversial matters; and to the plans of corporations to site plant against the wishes of local residents; and to licensing decisions by the Environment Agency
- In Europe, advising on the implications of EU regulations in a number of areas including licensing, radioactive substances, and waste collection and disposal
- Internationally, as representatives of national and supra-national governments in cases before the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the European Court of Justice (ECJ)
Spotlight on four members of the group:
Philippe Sands QC
Philippe is Professor of Laws and Director of the Centre for International Courts and Tribunals, University College London. He advises the private sector, governments, international organisations and NGOs in the fields of public international law, EU law, and natural resources and environment law across a wide range of matters. He has acted in numerous international arbitrations. He is described by Chambers & Partners as "At the top of his field", and in Legal 500 as "well regarded by clients for his international environmental law expertise".
Philippe is the editor, with Paolo Galizzi, of Documents in International Environmental Law (2nd edition), Cambridge University Press, 2004
David Wolfe
David's environmental law practice involves challenges to public law decisions ranging from public inquiries to judicial review in the High Court and higher courts. It includes a substantial proportion of planning and environmental law work dealing with local plan and development control decisions, as well as environmental (including waste management) regulation including under the Environment Act, Environmental Protection Act and EC legislation. David has acted for a wide range of clients including individuals, residential groups, NGOs and local authorities bringing challenges, and those resisting challenges (often the beneficiary of the regulatory approval under challenge). He is recommended in environment law by both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, he is described by the latter as having "an excellent grasp of the subject and conveys his arguments most attractively"
Maurice Sheridan
Maurice's practice includes advisory and contentious work in a variety of tribunals including the ECJ on behalf of major lending and financial institutions, local authorities, corporate and private clients. Over the past few years his environmental practice has expanded to include advice on areas such as civil and criminal liability for environmental pollution, particularly at the suit of environmental regulatory authorities, and appellate work against the activities or failures of regulatory bodies. In Chambers & Partners it is reported that Maurice "moves up the table for a second consecutive year…[and] excels at the sharp end". In Legal 500 he is "recommended for waste and energy and is considered to be excellent on nuclear matters"
Kate Cook
Before joining Matrix in 2000, Kate was for seven years the Legal Advisor to the International and EC Division of the DETR. In this capacity she represented the UK government at a number of international environmental treaty negotiations and was responsible for advising on whether the DETR should intervene in cases before the ECJ, for example on cases relating to environmental impact assessments and hazardous waste. Her domestic environment law practice includes work for Greenpeace (Brazilian Mahogany), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the British Union Against Vivisection. She is currently instructed by the European Commission, with Philippe Sands QC, in its WTO case against the United States over Genetically Modified Organisms.
Kate is the author of Wildlife Law, published by Cameron May, 2004 | 
