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Victoria Barnes

Senior Associate

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About

Victoria is a senior associate in the firm’s Environment team with over 10 years post qualification experience, advising on the full spectrum of environmental law and regulation, including contaminated land, permitting, waste and water law, ESG, climate change and sustainability and product stewardship.

She is an experienced solicitor advocate with substantial contentious, advisory and regulatory experience, with a focus on and specialist expertise in environmental regulatory investigations and disputes. Victora is also highly experienced in environmental risk management and transactional work involving environmental matters, including undertaking buyer/seller due diligence, environmental risk allocation, insurance considerations and instructing/managing environmental consultants.

Victoria has acted for a broad spectrum of clients across the public and private sectors, including developers, utilities, energy and waste operators, manufacturers, government departments and public authorities.

She is a member of the firm’s water and ESG groups.

Experience

  • International technology firm: Advising an international technology firm on an investigation by the Environment Agency into water pollution offences.
  • Operator of biogas businesses: Representing an operator of a biogas business being investigated by the Environment Agency for operating without the relevant environmental permit being in place.
  • Statutory water undertaker: Representing, defending and advising various statutory water and sewerage undertakers on all issues of water law including defending prosecutions for water pollution and competition claims, and responding to regulatory investigations and processes.
  • Multinational conglomerate: Advising a multinational conglomerate on PFAS issues and its water discharge activities in connection with (i) the remediation and sale of a former industrial site and (ii) operations at an existing manufacturing plant.
  • Verification and assurance organisation: Advising a verification and assurance services organisation on new product labels that included a range of environmental claims to assess whether the proposed claims posed any UK greenwashing compliance risk.
  • Manufacturer: Acting on the appeal of an abatement notice in relation to noise nuisance on behalf of a manufacturer.

Credentials

  • Admitted as a solicitor: England & Wales (2011)

Areas of expertise

Sector focus

Office

“The team has a strong national presence despite being regional in location and is very highly regarded for both regulatory advice and heavier environmental litigation work.”

Legal 500 UK, 2025

“The Burges Salmon environmental litigation team is perhaps the best in England for this kind of work. They've got real experts, with the backing of a good firm to resource litigation matters when the work needs extra lawyers brought in.”

Legal 500 UK, 2024

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