Laura Hughes
Partner
Nottingham
laura.hughes@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)115 976 6582
Laura Hughes is head of our public law team, as well as head of the insurance and public risk department. Laura is an experienced public law expert who advises her clients on their most important and high-profile matters. She acts across the public sector advising clients in government, local government, education, health, audit, sports and natural resources.
Laura has over 19 years’ experience advising public sector clients on the full range of public law matters including decision making, consultation, statutory interpretation, statutory and guidance drafting, judicial review and civil enforcement. Laura’s clients include Welsh Government, National Audit Office, Natural Resources Wales, Sport England, Qualification Wales, Northern Ireland Audit Office, UK Sport, and the Cabinet Office.
Laura has a particular specialism in the environment and has acted for many of the environmental regulators for all of her legal career. She is a passionate supporter of organisations looking to move to net zero or otherwise manage their environmental impact and leads the firm’s own efforts in this area.
Laura is happiest when she is sat around a client’s Board or Executive table helping them through their trickiest issues to a decision which is defendable, lawful and made in the public interest.
Expertise
Featured experience
Charnwood Borough Council
Advising Charnwood Borough Council in relation to a certificate of lawful use or development (CLEUD)involving an area of land on which an applicant stated he had been using for up to 140 caravans when, in fact, only 10 were allowed on the site. Laura advised on the legal arguments and evidence submitted by the applicant and reviewed third party evidence to assist the Council in their determination of the CLEUD application.
County Council
Conducting complex litigation for a county council in the administrative court and Chancery Division in relation to their decision to require payment from a community association for use of rooms within a primary school.
Natural England
Defending several judicial reviews for Natural England and the Countryside Council for Wales regarding their decisions on the designation of sites of special scientific interest, consideration of the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) Regulations and the exercise of discretion in relation to an agri-environment scheme.
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Advising on all aspects of planning, highways and compulsory purchase - recently advising the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in relation to the redevelopment of Cremorne Wharf, a major regeneration project.
Testimonials
"Laura Hughes – excellent understanding of the client’s business and able to give credible advice to Board members in difficult circumstances."
"Laura Hughes – diligent and user friendly."
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Watch our webinar on-demand. Issues discussed: summary of the COP26 outputs, predictions for further commitments at COP27, and more.
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Aiming for Net Zero – what is the Real Estate sector in the UK and China doing?
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Public and administrative law specialists, Laura Hughes and Tim Edds, take a look at judicial review, covering case law updates and tactical advice for organisations. Tim introduces the new administrative law guidance that was published in 2018, focusing on good practice and procedural promptness, and discusses some subsequent cases.