Pinsent Masons hires planning partner Emma Harling-Phillips

Emma will join from DLA Piper and is a qualified barrister, having previously been a tenant at Landmark Chambers. She specialises in obtaining planning and other regulatory approvals for major transport infrastructure, energy and real estate developments, with both public and private sector clients. Most recently, Emma has successfully promoted a number of Development Consent Orders (DCO) in the roads and power station sectors and helped defend the first DCO in the Court of Appeal.

James Crookes, Head of Property and Real Estate at Pinsent Masons, comments: "Emma is a well-known specialist Planning and DCO lawyer, with strong knowledge across the transport, energy, and commercial and residential development sectors. This is a rare combination and we're very pleased to be welcoming her to Pinsent Masons. We're sure her experience will be of huge value to our clients as we reinforce our commitment to being a market leading firm in Planning and DCOs."

Iain Gilbey, Head of Planning at Pinsent Masons, adds: "We are delighted Emma is joining us as a Partner in our team in London. With over 100 of the UK's best Planning and DCO specialists, our practice continues to go from strength to strength. Emma's experience will add further to our market leading profile both in the UK and internationally. Her expertise will further increase our capability to advise on the most significant infrastructure, energy and real estate projects, and provide a market leading service to our clients."

Pinsent Masons is ranked the number one planning law firm by Planning Magazine. The team has advised on more DCO projects than any other law firm, including the largest road and power station schemes. The team operates nationally in the UK and internationally.