Jessica Baldwin

Expertise

Jessica is a NSW Law Society accredited specialist in planning and environment law, with extensive experience advising and acting for government and private clients.

Jessica has built a career advising on complex environmental and planning matters, including development pathways, compulsory acquisition, contamination, and environmental controls.

Jessica practices mainly in the Class 1, 3, and 5 jurisdictions of the NSW Land and Environment Court. Jessica regularly provides expert guidance on navigating legal and regulatory processes for government and private clients.

In 2022, Jessica was recognised as the winner of the Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards in the Native Title, Planning and Environment category.

Experience

Jessica’s experience includes:

• acting in Class 5 criminal proceedings for Council and NSW Government agencies for breaches of environmental and planning laws
• Acting for council and NSW Government agencies in Class 1 proceedings regarding complex planning regimes and regulations
• advising and acting for government agencies and private clients on numerous compulsory acquisitions matters through all stages of the process, including pre-acquisition negotiations, post-acquisition negotiations, and Class 3 appeals in the Land and Environment Court
• acting for a company in the Supreme Court in a nuisance and negligence claim regarding land and groundwater contamination, including complex hydrogeological issues
• successfully obtained a development consent for a private developer in Class 1 Proceedings in the Land and Environment Court, following the refusal of Council’s Local Planning Panel of a four-storey residential flat building in Coogee: MKD Architects Pty Ltd v Randwick City Council [2022] NSWLEC 1112
• advising and acting for private clients in relation to investigations by NSW Natural Resources Access Regulator and NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water for alleged environmental offences, including responses to requests for information and records
• assisting in the purchase and transfer of biodiversity credits under the NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme
• advising private and government clients on clean up notices and development control orders.

Membership

• NSW Law Society Accredited Specialist – Planning & Environment Law
• Member of the National Environmental Law Association’s Climate Change Working Group