Leon is a Senior Associate in the National Environment Planning and Native Title team.
Leon is experienced across all aspects environmental and planning law, including planning, pollution and contamination, biodiversity, heritage and water. He acts for government authorities and private sector clients nationally, including developers, landowners and investors, with a particular focus on large-scale linear infrastructure such as road and rail, as well as significant commercial and residential sites. He supports clients with planning pathways and approvals, compulsory acquisition, regulatory compliance and exposure to liability, responding to regulator investigations and enforcement, and environmental and planning dispute resolution. He also has experience in high-value transactions involving land acquisition across all Australian jurisdictions.
Leon's litigation practice involves acting for government bodies, developers and landholders in Land and Environment Court and Supreme Court proceedings, including judicial review, civil enforcement, contractual disputes involving environmental harm, and merit appeals. Leon publishes regularly in legal journals and other forums on current issues in planning and environmental law and policy.
Relevant matters include:
- NSW Government landowner: acting in a high-value dispute between NSW Government and Commonwealth tenant concerning remediation costs for legacy contamination affecting the tenant’s major rail infrastructure project
- Rail Infrastructure JV: advising joint venture in relation to obligations under environmental protection licence issued under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) during construction phase of major rail infrastructure project
- Transport for NSW: acting in numerous Class 3 compensation appeals in the Land and Environment Court of NSW over the compulsory acquisition of open space land for the WestConnex Project
- Port Macquarie-Hastings Council: advising on the biodiversity certification regime for the Port Macquarie Airport Master Plan under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW) and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth)
