Public law

“Very quick response times, excellent business acumen and good strength in depth.”
Legal 500 2009

Regulatory and public law has a huge impact on businesses, as well as on governmental and public bodies. We have a wealth of experience giving realistic, practical advice on a vast range of regulatory and public law matters to both public and private sector clients.

How we can help

A particular feature of Norton Rose, when compared with other leading international law firms, is that we have a real understanding of the role of public bodies, with members of our team having worked both for – and within – governmental and regulatory agencies. We believe that this gives us a sensitivity to the mix of legal, economic, political and public relations issues which government, public sector bodies and regulators face – and the broader policy context in which they operate – to the benefit of regulators, the businesses they regulate and those that wish to invest or participate in public sector projects.

As one of the leading legal practices in project finance, we have vast experience of public sector, PFI and PPP projects in the United Kingdom and internationally. We specialise in energy and transport – two of our five key strengths – and have recently focused on urban regeneration. Our experience covers all the major sectors, including prisons, road, rail, defence, waste, energy, schools and infrastructure projects. We understand and are sensitive to the regulatory framework that public bodies have to work within to achieve successful public sector projects.

Companies

At a time of ever-more complex regulation, companies need to know their obligations – and avoid the pitfalls of non-compliance – and also protect their rights. Whether in sector regulation of utilities, transport, media and telecoms, or planning laws, or environmental and health and safety law and regulation, or public procurement, or EU state aid rules, or financial services regulation – or indeed any other encounter with government (at EU, national or local level) – We have the experience and expertise to help your company through the regulatory web.

We aim to ensure that regulation is a hurdle to be cleared, not a block to progress – and sometimes even a means of advancing your business’s rights and creating new opportunities.

Governmental and regulatory bodies

As far as governmental and regulatory bodies are concerned, the need to observe public and administrative law requirements is becoming increasingly important as, in a litigious culture, the prospects of legal challenge loom large – from rights of appeal, judicial review, human rights forums and the European Courts. We at Norton Rose have a proud track record in assisting governmental and public bodies, in the UK and across Europe, to avoid the pitfalls and, where necessary, to enable them to defend their positions. We believe strongly that:

• while it is good to succeed in judicial review cases (and we do), it is better still to help our clients avoid having to be in court, by ensuring that decisions and procedures are compliant
• compliance with public law obligations does not necessarily mean constraining policy choices – it is perfectly possible for governmental and regulatory bodies to achieve their policy objectives so long as regulatory decisions are properly reasoned, consistent with statutory duties and made in compliance with fair and open procedures.