Expertise
Victoria is a Legal Director in the firm’s Environment team with over 10 years post qualification experience, advising on the full spectrum of environmental law and regulation, including contaminated land, permitting, waste and water law, ESG, climate change and sustainability, producer responsibility and product stewardship.
She has substantial contentious, advisory and regulatory experience, with a focus on and specialist expertise in environmental regulatory investigations and disputes. Victora is also highly experienced in environmental risk management and transactional work involving environmental matters, including undertaking buyer/seller due diligence, environmental risk allocation, insurance considerations and instructing/managing environmental consultants.
Victoria has acted for a broad spectrum of clients across the public and private sectors, including developers, utilities, energy and waste operators, manufacturers, government departments and public authorities.
- Experience
- International technology firm: Advising an international technology firm on an investigation by the Environment Agency into water pollution offences.
- Operator of biogas businesses: Representing an operator of a biogas business being investigated by the Environment Agency for permit breaches and operating without the relevant environmental permit being in place.
- Statutory water undertakers: Representing, defending and advising various statutory water and sewerage undertakers on all issues of water law including defending prosecutions for water pollution and competition claims, responding to regulatory investigations and processes and advising on environmental and regulatory issues.
- Multinational conglomerate: Advising a multinational conglomerate on environmental permitting and PFAS issues in connection with the remediation and sale of a former industrial site.
- Verification and assurance organisation: Advising on new product labels that included a range of environmental claims to assess whether the proposed claims posed any UK greenwashing compliance risk.
- Manufacturer: Acting on the appeal of an abatement notice in relation to noise nuisance on behalf of a manufacturer.
- Wholesaler: Advising a publicly listed wholesaler in relation to its diversification into the recycling sector, providing strategic waste and resource management regulatory and compliance advice.
- Education
- UCL, LLM (distinction) International Law
- City University, GDL
- London School of Economics, BSc Economic History with Economics (2:1)
- Testimonials
Victoria Barnes ha[s] been very efficient and diligent in keeping track of our case
Legal 500
- Professional Memberships
- UKELA
- City of London Law Society (Environment Group)
