Clients
Clients
Our work with clients is where we believe we can have the biggest impact. Fighting for justice in the courts is one of the most important – and potentially most transformative - actions any individual or group can take. We are proud to stand alongside those fighting for a greener, fairer society.
Highlights
- Home to an industry-leading national environmental law practice
- The only UK law firm with a core team of ‘energy geeks’ who spend 100% of their time on clean energy matters
- Freeths’ lawyers successfully fought and won the legal battle that 555 postmasters brought against Post Office over the Horizon Scandal
- We work with over 200 public sector bodies including schools, education providers and NHS Trusts
A sector leader
Freeths is widely recognised for our expertise in environmental, social and governance issue.
On a daily basis, our teams work on large-scale projects including green loans to fund developments such as a sustainable hub for health innovation, the UK’s first ever low-carbon food production campus, working with local authorities to repurpose town centres to become more accessible and people-friendly, supporting special needs facility construction for schools and education providers, and remediating former collieries into sustainable employment spaces.
Clean energy Partner Clare King has been recognised as one of the Top 40 Women Leaders in Energy Storage.
We are increasingly called on to advise clients wishing to attain B Corp Status. As a certified B Corp ourselves, we understand the process that goes into certifying high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials.
"The development of the next generation of climate and environmentally focussed companies is a key step in striving for a sustainable future."
Malin Svanberg Larsson
Partner
Post Office Horizon Scandal
Over a 14-year period, the Post Office prosecuted more than 700 postmasters for theft and false accounting. Its evidence came principally from data produced by the flawed Horizon computer system. Victims faced criminal convictions, were left financially ruined, and ostracised from their families and communities. Post Office denied any wrongdoing for many years.
However, after James Hartley, Freeths’ National Head of Dispute Resolution, heard a piece about Alan Bates – the founder of the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance – on Radio 4, he contacted Mr. Bates, and shortly afterwards his teams took on the mammoth task of fighting the Post Office through the courts, working day and night for a year with no fees.
The team successfully fought and won the legal battle on behalf of 555 postmasters. Post Office eventually settled the case and issued a formal apology, paying £57.75 million in compensation and agreeing to a compensation scheme. The historic case led to a public inquiry and quashing of hundreds of wrongful convictions. It was dramatised in ITV’s Mr Bates v The Post Office in early 2024, which was watched by over nine million people.
LinkedIn Live interview with James Hartley
"A first class-firm that came to the aid of a major victims’ group when all else failed.”
Sir Alan Bates
Founder of the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance
Expertise, insights and knowledge
Clients and industry can access our best and boldest legal brains in lots of different ways.
- Our clean energy, waste and sustainability team run green breakfast webinars on topics including bioenergy and sustainability, which regularly attract up to 200 attendees and receive great feedback from clients and industry leaders
- We recently hosted our first sustainability networking event in Bristol for those interested in speaking to experts on the topic of decarbonisation
- We developed an ESG checklist for businesses to quantify and improve how they are performing on environmental, social and governance indicators
- Our environmental law team run a suite of interactive training courses for environmental consultants, planning professionals and planning authorities. High-demand courses include protected species, habitats regulations assessment, water law, wildlife law and biodiversity net gain. Our courses have an excellent reputation and take place across the UK
- We deliver bespoke in-house training sessions for ecological consultancies, planning professionals, local planning authorities and industry bodies to provide formal training on legal requirements and forthcoming changes in environmental law
- We regularly train clients for free on use of The Chancery Lane Project clauses in order to spread the word about how easy (and free) it is to introduce sustainability provisions into clients’ supply chains
Case Study: SEGRO Derby - Driving clean energy in food production
We recently advised on the development of an innovative low carbon food production and distribution hub in Derby: the first of its kind in the food industry.
Covering an extensive two million sq ft, the hub uses the latest technologies to supply an essential heating and cooling system that recycles heat from refrigeration plants and reuses it to heat water and offices. This will lower carbon usage across storage, processing, space heating, and hygiene activities, enabling sustainable food production.
Between 2024 and 2030, the system is anticipated to provide an annual CO2e saving of circa 27,000 tons compared with an equivalent system. A minimum annual seasonal efficiency of 400% is guaranteed to the tenants – over four times more efficient than gas boilers.
Focus: Freeths’ Environmental Team
Freeths’ environmental team are highly regarded for their expertise and experience over the fields of circular economy, biodiversity net gain, habitat protection, marine environments and air quality issues, among many others.
Led by Penny Simpson, the team contributed to us being named one of the best law firms in the country by the Times newspaper in 2024.
Richard Broadbent, Planning and Environmental Director, regularly lectures in environmental law, including at University College London, University of Sheffield and University of Exeter.
Director of Planning Sarah Philips advised on the first Biodiversity Credit Scheme to be set up in England and Wales, while Helen Mitcheson was listed on the inaugural ENDS Power List of 100 environmental professionals. She is also a Member of Council for the UK Environmental Law Association and is an active member of its Nature Conservation Working Party. The team has worked on high-profile cases including Hinckley Point C and HS2.
Contact us today
Whatever your legal needs, our wide ranging expertise is here to support you and your business, so let’s start your legal journey today and get you in touch with the right lawyer to get you started.
Get in touch
For general enquiries, please complete this form and we will direct your message to the most appropriate person.