Dr. James Smith Email & Phone Number

Sydney, NSW, AU

32nd Floor, 52 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000

Areas of Practice: Planning and Development, Environmental (civil and criminal), Local Government, Land Acquisition Compensation, Property, Administrative, Building and construction, Native title.

• Legal Counsel (Senior Executive Service Level 3) in Environment, Planning and Property Law deployed to the Roads and Maritime Services within the Transport for NSW cluster. The role provided strategic legal advice and.
• Providing strategic and concise legal briefings to the Minister and Chief Executive as well as reviewing Cabinet Minutes and proposed legislative changes, new legislation and regulations.
• Managing external lawyers to ensure that prompt, expert and professional advice and support is provided when required and often at short notice and overseeing the management of the panel.
• Working with a team of in-house of lawyers to deliver quality, efficient and expert legal advice and services to Transport for NSW/Operating Agencies.
• Establishing and maintaining sound communication and relationships within Transport for NSW/Operating Agencies and their stakeholders.

• Senior Associate in the Environment and Planning Group. This role involves providing legal advice to financial institutions, developers, companies, utilities, local, state and federal government agency clients on the.
• Commercial transactions (acquisitions, disposals and leasing), property disputes, statutory compliance and reporting requirements associated with contaminated land and site remediation;
• Regularly appearing as a solicitor advocate for both developer, local council and state government clients in the NSW Land and Environment Court;
• Advising extensively on various policies, procedures and workplace instructions to build client capacity to comply with their statutory obligations, including dealing with environmental impact assessment, vegetation.
• Environment Protection Authority investigations, criminal proceedings and negotiating amendments to environmental protection licences;
• Developing training programs and subsequently delivered training on environmental matters to clients with the training tailored to the particular client’s business and key environmental concerns. Training has included.

• Solicitor in the Firm's Environment, Planning and Local Government Group acting on both litigious and non-litigious matters covering the spectrum of environment and planning law both in NSW and Nationally. Key.
• Represented and provided advice to various Commonwealth and State Government authorities including: the NSW Minister for Planning in relation to land acquisition and just terms compensation proceedings and providing.
• Acting for and advising clients in disputes associated with the contaminated land and compliance with the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 (NSW) including instructing counsel in significant Full Federal Court of.
• Appointment as the Firm's 2IC for the National Water Law Campaign and the internal technical expert for the Firm's National Contaminated Land Law Campaign contributing to a number of profitable business development.

• Engaged initially as a paralegal and following graduation in a Bachelor of Laws as a solicitor with promotion through to Associate in PricewaterhouesCoopers Legal's Environment and Planning Group. Key achievements.
• Successfully representing developer and Council clients in NSW Land and Environment Court merit review appeals and advising mining law clients in relation to planning law, environment and due diligence requirements of.
• Providing strategic environmental advice in relation to the obligations and entitlements under the Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997 (NSW) and acting for private board scale agricultural clients in class 1 NSW.
• Advising water law clients in relation to water licensing under the Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) and water infrastructure and operational issues under various pieces of NSW legislation.

Employed as an environmental scientist conducting hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical investigations and Environment Impact Assessments for NSW COAL in relation to underground long-wall coal mining operations in NSW. Advising generally and working as a project environmental scientist on numerous environmental impact and contaminated site assessments.

• Accepted into the organisation’s graduate engineering program within the Engineering Department’s Environmental Service Unit. Key achievements included:
• Preparation of Environmental Impact Assessments for various electricity infrastructure projects and Project Engineer for Sub-transmission Substation contaminated site assessments and designed a bioremediation hazardous.
• Conducting audits for Environmental Legislative Compliance and Waste Minimisation and Management. Drafting text for various environmental legislative awareness programs including training software programs and.
• Writing of submissions to the National Greenhouse Challenge, Hacking River Catchment Management Plan, the National Avian Moralities study, and Natural Resources Data Directory with regards to Energy Australia's.

Doctorate Of Philosophy, Environmental Hydrogeochemistry

PhD. Research Thesis: "Inorganic hydrogeochemistry, hydrogeology and geology of the Stuarts Point aquifer system: A process analysis of.

Bachelor Of Laws, (Honours 1St Class)

Honours Research Thesis: "Water Management Committees: An analysis of water resources allocation and sustainability in NSW - the role of.

Bachelor Of Science, Earth And Environmental Science (Honours 1St Class)

Honours Research Thesis: "A Hydrogeolochemical, hydrogeological and geochemical investigation of a contaminated site - A study of the.