Environmental Law, Natural Resource

 

Otiang`a Owiti & Company Advocates (OO&Co.) have a team with broad experience with environmental laws across the East African region

 

Our specialist environmental teams comprise both lawyers as well as environmental experts and specialists who have garnered experience working with organizations such as The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

We are thus equipped with a practical understanding of both the law and its application by the regulators and can handle environmental matters in all the jurisdictions in which we are located.

 

Our service covers legal risk mitigation and management, permitting, projects and developments, appeals against administrative decisions and judicial reviews, criminal and administrative disputes, impacts and compliance, due-diligence investigations, and compliance auditing.

 

Environmental and related natural resource issues are truly global in nature, transcending borders and requiring multinational responses. Environmental regimes are constantly evolving, as both developed and developing countries seek to meet the impacts of a global economy on their air, land, water and public health. Companies operating in multiple jurisdictions need the help of lawyers with broad experience across regions and continents to navigate this changing landscape.

 

Our breadth of work encompasses, among others:

a) Environmental Compliance Planning: Companies face increasing regulatory and public pressure to address the environmental impact of their business operations, often in multiple jurisdictions. We deal with environmental issues, including project development, impact assessment, permitting, climate change, product life cycle analysis, due diligence and risk management.

 

Our team of lawyers will work with you to plan for compliance with changing regulations and standards around the world. Otiang`a Owiti & Company Advocates (OO&Co.) will guide you in seeking resolution of enforcement actions, defending permits, and pursuing legal remedies where necessary. Rely on our help and advice to take a proactive stance in assessing and managing liability from production to disposal, for products you manufacture, or assets you acquire or sell. When major incidents do occur, look to our lawyers for strategic management counsel and representation.

b) Dispute resolution and strategic planning: preventing disputes from arising and achieving a resolution at the earliest stage possible are key priorities for our clients and our team. We support our clients with managing environmental and safety risks and strategic planning, whether at the board or parent company level, or targeted at specific projects, transactions, or operations.

 

c) Contract related disputes: we have extensive experience litigating environmental indemnities in sales, project, and joint venture documents, most often relating to land contamination disputes. We regularly advise on disputes relating to site remediation in the context of lease surrender and termination.

 

d) Civil suits and/or claims: we act for clients claiming loss for damage caused to their property and defending private law claims arising from negligence and nuisance. We have expertise advising the insured on behalf of the insurer on specialty environmental lines in relation to the defence of civil claims, as well as regulatory investigations and insured contracts.

 

e) Administrative and judicial challenges: we challenge decisions of governments or regulators through administrative law on behalf of our clients. Where necessary, we support our clients where such cases are referred to the Environment and Land Court or the National Environment Tribunal (NET), we negotiate settlements with governmental agencies; and we advise on engagement with stakeholders and regulators.

 

f) Defence of environmental authorizations: Once Otiang`a Owiti & Company Advocates (OO&Co.) has assisted clients in obtaining permits or other authorizations to proceed, opponents may attack those authorizations in court or elsewhere. OO & Co. lawyers are prepared to intervene or take such other actions as appropriate to defend those authorizations in administrative or judicial proceedings.

 

g) Enforcement challenges and criminal litigation: our team responds right from the initial stages of an environmental or safety incident, advising on regulatory investigations (including interviews by enforcement officers and the police) through to advocating specific enforcement options; defending companies, directors and employees at trial; and advising clients on post-incident liability management.