Powerhouses

‘It took us nearly ten years to provide a green light to Sizewell, the last nuclear power plant to be built in the UK,’ said former Business Secretary John Hutton speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last year, shortly before handing over to Peter Mandelson. ‘If we’re serious about climate change, we’ve got to get on and make these decisions. Not take away people’s right to say “look, I’ve got an objection”… but not make the system three cherries on a cash machine for lawyers.’

Nevertheless, the legal costs will undoubtedly mount up. Since the government’s energy review in 2006, which placed nuclear new build at the heart of its new, lower-carbon strategy, both in-house energy teams and private practices have been looking to recruit the best nuclear specialists to capitalise on the recession-proof cash cow. Most notably, Osborne Clarke hired regulatory expert Richard Temple from Hogan & Hartson in 2007, Eversheds hired former head of legal at British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL), Alvin Shuttleworth, as a consultant in 2007 and Pinsent Masons hired Ian Downing, previously director of international nuclear policy at the Department of Trade and Industry, in 2008. On the in-house side, CH2M Hill hired the highly rated Mark Richards from Pinsent Masons as chief counsel for international operations.

At first glance, there’s ample work to go round: the decommissioning of existing power stations; financing new builds (each power station is expected to cost around £3bn, compared with £800m for a gas-fired plant and £1bn for a coal-fired power station); advising on regulatory changes to relax the planning process; and the eventual construction of the projects. Even before operation, there are health and safety issues, consideration of which agency will shoulder liability in the unlikely event of an incident, and other day-to-day nuclear concerns that will occupy lawyers. ‘The lawyer’s role in nuclear new build is very important,’ says Temple. ‘It covers so many strands of the law, from procurement to environmental and planning. The legal complexity of these projects is immense, and as current nuclear law is antiquated and fragmented, liability will be a huge issue.’

However, even before these projects get off the ground, the big money is in advising the principal energy players on positioning themselves in the UK market.

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