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March 26th, 2025

ELF Member Spotlight: Jessica Allen

By Renee Karunungan

 

Jessica Allen is a barrister at No5 Barristers’ Chambers whose practice encompasses all areas of environmental law, including public law, planning, property, tort, and EU/international law. Previously, Jessica held legal and policy roles at ELF, WWF, and ClientEarth. At the Bar, she has acted for and advised clients including individuals, NGOs, developers, and local and central government on a range of environmental law matters in various fora including judicial review challenges, planning appeals, restocking notice appeals, abatement notice appeals, and environmental assessments. You can read more about her here.

 

  1. Can you tell us about your background and what inspired you to specialize in environmental law?

I grew up in a single-parent household and attended state schools in the North West of England, where I spent weekends and holidays exploring the Lake District with my family and local youth group. Those experiences instilled in me a strong sense of stewardship for our natural environment. I was then very fortunate to discover environmental law and the routes into environmental law practice at an early stage, as I entered the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA) Andrew Lees Essay Prize and won a place at the UKELA Annual Conference in Edinburgh in my first year of university. There I met barristers who were working on some of the leading cases in environmental protection. I went on to attend a summer law school on international environmental law in Italy, supported by a UKELA student bursary, and settled my mind on a career in environmental law soon after I returned.

 

  1. What motivated you to join ELF?

Volunteering and giving back has been a firm fixture in my life and so I was keen to join ELF once I started in legal practice. Unexpectedly, though, I also had the privilege of working for ELF before pupillage as one of its first paralegals. As a paralegal I saw first-hand the critical role that ELF plays in supporting members of the public to access the tools that they need to have their voices heard and protect the places they care about. That support was something that I wanted to continue and pay forward after I left.

 

  1. How has working with the Environmental Law Foundation influenced your career and professional development?

Working with ELF has had a huge impact on my professional development as it has enabled me to maintain and improve my environmental law knowledge and cultivate a broad environmental law practice from the start. For example, I have advised on the merits of judicial review challenges and other interventions into various forms of environmental decision making. I have also assisted ELF with producing responses to national consultations on topics including judicial review and protected sites for nature. I enjoy and value the variety of work that ELF allows me to get involved in.

 

  1. Can you share a memorable case or project you worked on through ELF that had a significant impact on the community or the environment?

Last year I acted for a local community group in a judicial review challenge to the retrospective grant of planning permission for an unauthorised events venue operating in an area that was within and surrounded by a number of sensitive environmental designations, including a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and an area of outstanding national beauty (AONB). The joint advisory committee for the AONB had itself objected to the application on the basis that the impact on these designations would be significant, while the mitigation plan proposed was complex and potentially undeliverable. In deciding to grant permission, it was regrettable that the planning committee had failed to take into account a supplementary planning document relating to the AONB or the AONB management plan. I was therefore pleased to hear that, following our success in obtaining permission, the local planning authority consented to judgment and the decision was quashed. 

 

  1. What are some of the unique opportunities or advantages you’ve experienced as a member of ELF compared to other professional networks or organisations?

I am not personally aware of other networks or organisations that offer or facilitate free legal advice and support to members of the public who have concerns relating to the environment in particular. Many of the environmental law clinics based in universities are themselves part of the ELF network. In that way, ELF is unique in connecting legal professionals with individuals who are spearheading important and/or cutting-edge cases in this field.

 

  1. In your opinion, why should other legal professionals consider joining the Environmental Law Foundation, and what advice would you give to those who are interested in pursuing a career in environmental law?

I hope that my answers to the previous questions speak to why other legal professionals should consider joining ELF. It is extremely rewarding, both professionally and personally.

My advice to students interested in pursuing a career in environmental law would be to get involved in ELF’s university-based clinics (if you can) and take advantage of UKELA’s many student initiatives. If you are not a student, ELF and UKELA organise events throughout the year on current environmental law issues which are great for learning and networking with others in this space. The Planning and Environmental Bar Association (PEBA) also runs a mentoring scheme for individuals interested in practising at the Bar, which I would have loved to have had available to me all those years ago!