Reimagining the Law for Nature

Paul practised at the civil/commercial bar for a decade, after graduating with a first class degree from the University of Cambridge. Paul co-founded Lawyers for Nature following his experience providing legal advice and assistance to tree protectors in Sheffield, who were seeking to stop the destruction of thousands of trees in their city. Not only did the law fail to protect these trees, but in many instances it criminalised the tree protesters and facilitated the unnecessary felling. Since then he has assisted dozens of campaigns to protect trees, rivers and other habitats from destruction and has appeared in court representing Nature on many occasions. All of these experiences have shown him that our legal system is built on the wrong foundations when it comes to Nature and that a fundamental shift is needed.

Since co-founding Lawyers for Nature in 2019, Paul has been at the forefront of re-imagining the law for Nature. He represents Nature and Nature protectors in courts and uses the lessons learned from these experiences to show why our legal system is fundamentally misaligned with Nature. Paul has become a leading voice for Rights of Nature in the UK. In hundreds of talks, workshops, podcasts and interviews, he strongly advocates for our legal system to come into alignment with Nature and actively support the protection and restoration of the natural world.

Paul lives on a boat on the River Roding in East London. In 2019 he founded the River Roding Trust and he works passionately and tirelessly to protect and restore the river, uphold its rights and speak for its interests. Paul’s relationship towards the river also provides numerous practical examples of the way in which our current legal and regulatory system is failing and how Nature guardianship can provide a practical, legal and philosophical way forward.

Brontie studied Law and Management at Sussex University. She also completed a masters degree in Law, Rights and Responsibility at Sussex. She then went on to qualify as a solicitor and complete training at a top 60 firm (now Irwin Mitchell). Brontie continued her legal career with some international work and finally moved into lecturing law full time, teaching at Sussex, Brighton, Lancashire, international business schools and finally, the University of Essex. She has lectured across a number of core and specialist subjects such as Land, EU, Tort, IP and Corporate Commerical law. Brontie founded Lawyers for Nature in 2019 with Paul Powlesland. Initially focussing on public law and judicial review, she then moved into Rights of Nature work. Brontie was one of the lead legal architects of the 2022 Faith in Nature, Nature on the Board intervention. She was then the first person to sit as the legal guardian for Nature on the board of Faith in Nature, she held this position for two years. Brontie now sits on a number of corporate and non-profit boards as both a non-executive expert and as 'Nature'. Brontie is the managing director of Lawyers for Nature.

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Brontie works with the philosophy of Rights of Nature to change systems, companies and people. Her work is focused on creating robust legal structures that allow Nature to be represented in human decision making spaces while working with the current normative frameworks. Brontie advocates from the position that Nature already has rights and the law is simply reflecting this in an equitable democratic society. She is also working on theorising and, putting into practice, the concept of responsibility to future generations and the equitable sharing of all resources across the Earth. Brontie is keen to progress work that builds upon previous movements such as women's rights and children's rights, while stretching imaginations to a place that will enable a just transition for all. Brontie is also a public speaker on similar issues.

Jessie is a director of and a senior practitioner at Lawyers for Nature. Jessie studied Social Anthropology at Sussex University and then qualified as a barrister and has practiced criminal, family and regulatory law from 2 Dr Johnson's Buildings, where she remains a tenant. Jessie recently completed a LLM in Environmental Law at SOAS University and wrote her dissertation on Rights of Nature and Indigenous rights. One of Jessie’s contributions was her involvement in the 'We Are Nature' campaign, which successfully persuaded the Oxford English Dictionary to revise its wider definition of "Nature" to include humans and made the entry freely accessible to the public. This campaign was a vital step in challenging the pervasive notion that humans are separate from the natural world, emphasising instead the importance of viewing ourselves as an integral part of Nature. In her current work. Jessie helps organisations give a voice to Nature in decision-making forums and she is dedicated to ensuring that Nature’s interests are represented in legal and policy spaces.

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Jessie’s work is centered on advocating for the recognition of Nature’s rights within legal and governance systems. Her work encourages a fundamental shift in how people and organisations approach decision-making, urging them to act as though Nature has rights and deserves a seat at the table. Jessie is also interested in the intersection of Indigenous rights, seeking to integrate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into legal frameworks. Jessie is dedicated to fostering a deeper awareness of our interconnectedness with the environment, aiming to move society away from an anthropocentric worldview towards a more biocentric model that acknowledges the intrinsic value of all living beings and ecosystems.

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Sara manages our key strategic projects. From website to events, from communications to fundraising, Sara is here to make things happen. While Sara joins us with twenty years of communications experience in the advertising industry, Sara is keen to bring Nature into spaces to challenge - and ultimately change - our dominant narrative.

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Sara is on a journey of unlearning and relearning. Sara strives to bring communications expertise into organisations that are experimenting with systems change interventions that are in service of a thriving and vibrant Planet for all. To continue on this path, Sara will start on the Bio-Leadership Fellowship in February 2025.

Clara studied Philosophy and Law at Sussex University and qualified as a solicitor and senior immigration practitioner at leading civil liberties firm Birnberg Peirce & Partners. Clara has also been a Director at the legal NGO Reprieve and a national security fellow at the Open Society Justice Initiative.  She has a background in complex international legal investigations, strategic litigation, and advocacy, with a broad base of experience across criminal justice, migration, digital rights, freedom of expression, gender, protection of human rights defenders, and national security and human rights. Clara has headed investigations for legal cases around the world including at the English Supreme Court, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the European Court of Human Rights, and for multiple UN investigations and human rights bodies. She has engaged with political groupings, committees and individuals across European and African political systems, as well as at the Council of Europe and the European Parliament.  Her work and cases have been featured regularly in the international media including in the New York Times, TIME, Newsnight, Channel 4 News, BBC News, Dispatches, and other media around the world.

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Clara is interested in the intersection of rights of nature and human rights, particularly in the context of the global "just transition". She is developing an international research programme with an initial focus on Africa and Europe, taking a deep mapping approach and exploring resonances and potential synergies with similar initiatives in other jurisdictions.  Clara works with local partners across both continents, documenting the nature rights and human rights implications of mineral extraction, mapping the lifecycle of key extracted minerals and exploring ways to develop strategic litigation, and otherwise influence policy and develop protective frameworks at both the domestic and international levels.  Clara is also interested in rights of nature and the digital sphere / internet freedoms, and is aiming to develop research looking at climate freedom of information and misinformation online, and the climate impact of data centres.

Lucy is an ecological activist and organiser, with a background in International Law and International Relations. For Lawyers for Nature, Lucy has been working as a project coordinator, launching research into the rights of rivers and how to embed ecocentric principles in the social context of the UK through immersive events. Lucy’s work has been supporting Lawyers for Nature to explore the connections between movements such as the Rights of Nature and Stop Ecocide.

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Lucy takes a systems approach, exploring the relationships between social justice, climate breakdown, and the defence of nature. Lucy has been working with international and regional nature-based networks to develop creative ways of processing and responding to complex, interconnected, crises. We need to make knowledge about nature-connectedness and climate breakdown more accessible and memorable - finding the time and space for honest conversations, and deeper listening, is a promising step to start.

Lauren is our Operations Manager. She is responsible for overseeing daily operational tasks and supporting the work of members of the Core Team. Her role also includes managing our communications strategy through content creation and designing our digital presence.

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Lauren is also an activist, campaigner and organiser for the UK and Youth Network branches of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots.

Jérémie is our strategic advisor on international law. Trained in both civil and common law, Jérémie is an international legal scholar, supporting LfN engagement in international law, notably our campaign to support non-market and ecocentric approaches to international biodiversity law. Relying on his long term engagement in litigation to support the rights of Indigenous peoples, Jérémie regularly serves as a consultant for the United Nations, and has been involved in several high level cases of international litigation providing legal briefs, expert opinions, and witness statements to support the recognition of non-anthropocentric approaches to nature. He has recently led the establishment of the Interdisciplinary Network on the Rights of Nature.

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Jeremie's work examines how international law can provide a relevant framework to support further developments on the rights of nature. His work also examines the paradoxical relationship between human rights (which are anthropocentric) and the rights of nature, arguing that despite their differences, there are strong alignments developing, particularly around the evolution of the right to a healthy environment and climate  justice. Jérémie's approach is both transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary, supporting collaboration between activists, local communities, policy makers and researchers to better understand and implement rights of nature. His work aims to advance understanding of how RoN might work in practice, particularly when rights are competing or clashing.

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Belle is our operations and events person. With a background in the History of Art, Belle works closely with the creative world and draws inspiration from nature. She has a keen interest in the restoration of objects and the reuse of materials. Belle also collaborates with central London galleries, deepening her connection to the art world.

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She aims to bring a fresh perspective on commerciality to Lawyers for Nature, reimagining the future of commoditisation in a way that benefits the planet.