Valerie, who is also a Professor of Law at Cardiff University School of Law and Politics, advises clients on a wide range of environmental, climate change, and insurance law issues in non-contentious and contentious matters.
Valerie joined Stevens & Bolton as a Consultant in 2007. She previously practised environmental and insurance law at leading City of London law firms following her return from the United States where she lived for 23 years.
Valerie, who has practised law for over 25 years in England and the United States, specialises in environmental liabilities and environmental insurance.
Recent highlights include:
- A study for the European Commission on financial security in the context of the Environmental Liability Directive that included intensive research into the availability of, and demand for, insurance and other financial security instruments for environmental liabilities in all Member States and at EU level
- Advising AXA XL on various claims concerning environmental liabilities in environmental insurance and general liability policies
- Advising a mineral water supplier on various permits including water abstraction licences and their transfer, and any nearby polluting activities that could affect the abstractions
- Advising on environmental and climate change regulatory and liability matters for a wide range of clients
- Training judges across the EU in EU environmental law as a member of a team led by the Academy of European Law
Valerie is an honorary member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and a member of the City of London Law Society (past Vice Chair of the Planning and Environment Committee), the Law Society of Ireland (non-practising), the American Bar Association, the Texas State Bar (non-practising), the United Kingdom Environmental Law Association (UKELA) (past Council member), and the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (AIRMIC).
Valerie’s recent public speaking engagements include environmental implications of Brexit for the RICS, and conferences on environmental liabilities across the EU.