Provision of Services: Support in Nuclear Projects (Nov 2021)
Introduction
Our proposal is designed to support you in relation to international nuclear projects. We recognise the need for an integrated source of support in emerging nuclear environments and for the deep level of knowledge required to guide you through the national and international regulatory compliance from a legal, technical and socio-economic perspective.
We have the legal expertise within our firm but we are also able to provide support on the technical side through our close connections with globally renowned consultants in the nuclear sector. To support you we will use a team of selected experts. Each selected participant will be recommended by Castletown Law and pre-approved by you. The support we offer is comprehensive and the scope of the skills we bring under Castletown Law management is demonstrated in the Reference Projects table.
Besides our core nuclear law team we are able to offer support in the areas of corporate, commercial, and construction. We also bring specialist property law, litigation and disputes, employment law and planning law support through our network of alliance firms in the UK.
Internationally we have a growing alliance with specialist practices which reflects our own approach to the delivery of specialist services and value to clients. Examples of these relationships that may be of interest are in Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Lithuania, Romania, Ukraine and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Executive Summary
Castletown Law is committed to supporting you - our lead team members will be available at all times
This means that whenever you need us, we are contactable by email, phone or available to attend meetings on short notice. We work flexibly and cooperatively, utilising common tools and systems so we know what you need and when you need it. We will have staff who can locate locally and if needed, be embedded in your organisation.
We will work co-operatively as part of your team
Our role is to add value and experience to your team. We work with many consultants on large projects for clients, so we are used to the communication, management and exchange of knowledge that occurs in such situations.
Our experience demonstrates we can fulfil your requirements
You will see from our credentials that we are experienced in the areas where you require support. We have described several case studies to demonstrate the depth of our understanding of these types of projects and where we have worked on similar legal structures.
We bring a full team of experienced senior staff
Our team is used to working together with client teams and other consultants on large projects together and the nature of the work we do requires us to understand the relative strengths of our team and allocate and manage resource. This is an essential part of our approach with the result that all we do is coordinated to give you the most efficient solution.
By choosing a targeted approach and being careful to focus on our areas of expertise, we are able to excel in our specialisms.
We fully cover corporate, regulatory, commercial and international aspects. We will work with local businesses of your choice or assist in their selection to meet your requirements.
We will be there supporting you to ensure a successful outcome.
Supporting you by being there with you!
The Castletown Law commitment is to provide excellent service and advice. We take responsibility for ensuring all those we work with are committed to the same standards.
We take our responsibility to the industry in which we work seriously and we are dedicated to it in a way few firms offer.
Working with Castletown Law you will be dealing directly with the business leaders who deliver the service you need.
The value we place on our client relationships cannot be underestimated. It means most of our clients have used members of our team for more than 10 years. We are reliable, trusted providers in this specialist area.
Castletown Law Nuclear Team
Our core team are all experienced lawyers:
Andrew Renton
Andrew leads on commercial and industry related issues. He is a leading solicitor in the energy and infrastructure industry, who specialises in commercial contracts within the sector across multiple jurisdictions. His commercial approach to project completion and management and the prevention of escalation of disputes and avoidance of litigation, is welcomed by clients.
Specific Nuclear Experience:
Andrew has been involved in advising clients in the nuclear sector since the mid 1990’s. His most recent and relevant experience in the sector is as follows:
• Advising KEPCO on the involvement in the acquisition of an interest in the Moorside project;
• Advising KEPCO (jointly with specialist consultants) on entering and streamlining the GDA process;
• Advising on contract structure and drafting for phase four of Finnish NNB programme in relation to main technology providers delivery of obligations;
• British Energy’s IP rights relating to reverse engineering of nuclear generation control and instrumentation;
• Strategic replacement control systems facing obsolescence;
• Consultation with EDF on strategic approach to major projects contract management and supply chain integration;
• Major Project Agreement strategy for interface with unions for NNB projects;
• Supervising development of NNB tier 1 and subsidiary contracts for NNB at Hinkley Point;
• Advising the Jordanian Government on the issues arising from their proposed development of civil nuclear facilities;
• Preparing advice for the Turkish Government on the institutional reforms necessary for the development of civil nuclear projects in Turkey;
• Advising design and delivery consortium of Korean companies on the commissioning and commercial operation process for the Barakah NPP in Abu Dhabi.
Simon Stuttaford
Simon leads on Nuclear and Regulatory matters covering major projects from an environmental, planning and compliance point of view. His experience includes appointments as a leading team member on legal matters for Horizon Nuclear Power and as General Counsel and Company Secretary for EnergySolutions on the Magnox projects. Simon was a Partner with the Legal Practice DWF where he was Head of Nuclear and Joint Head of Environment.
Specific Nuclear Experience:
• Supporting Horizon Nuclear Power with environmental permits (i.e. water discharge activities, combustion permit activities, water abstraction, radioactive substances regulation activities), legal compliance training and drafting core policies and corporate governance issues;
• Managing specific Horizon Nuclear Power projects (nuclear site licensing and permit activities) together with supporting Licensing and Permitting functions;
• Advising Horizon Nuclear Power on environmental/regulatory issues and environmental compliance issues, (i.e. waste transfer and transport requirements);
• General Counsel and Company Secretary for EnergySolutions, PBO, and Company Secretary for Magnox Ltd, SLC, for the Magnox power stations;
• Involved in the strategic role of a parent company over a licensed subsidiary, including oversight over safety case issues, security and enforcement issues;
• Advising and drafting on commercial agreements including Memorandums of Understanding, Collaboration Agreements, Joint Venture Agreements, Consortium and Teaming Agreements for EnergySolutions;
• Providing stand-alone advice to clients on regulatory compliance, including radioactive substances, waste and waste packaging, waste shipment regulations, carriage of dangerous goods and the Environmental Permitting Regulations;
• Advising on licensing and delicensing issues including compliance with licence conditions, nuclear liability insurance, transport, safeguards, security, interpretation of the “no danger” principle etc;
• Advising on statutory changes to the nuclear liability regime applicable in the UK and by reference to European treaties.
Rob Higgins
Rob leads on project delivery, major bid support and contract management. Rob has over 20 years’ experience providing commercial legal advice within major projects and dispute resolution within nuclear, government, construction, PFI and rail sectors. His skills include coverage of project delivery, major bid support, contract management, corporate re-structuring, M&A, and public sector project procurement.
Specific Nuclear Experience:
As a member of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Executive team Rob was responsible for a broad portfolio of functions (including legal) and projects with the remit to deliver transformational change across supplier management for the NDA Group of companies. He led the delivery of corporate strategy on supply chain optimisation, digital transformation, land portfolio development, cyber & security culture and intellectual property exploitation.
• Legal support and advice to NDA Board on legal risk (e.g. corporate, GDPR, security, litigation);
• Set up and led NDA Group Legal Department with external spend c £3-5m p.a.;
• Established external legal supply chain;
• Support to major public sector procurements;
• Resolution of disputes with supply chain arising from JCT, NEC and bespoke forms of contract (settlement, mediation, litigation);
• Negotiation of revised incentivisation for contractors as part of settlements;
• Renegotiation of contract terms to avoid contract failure (e.g. Magnox contract c. £1.8bn);
• Successful litigation against insurers for c£80m loss covered by Business Interruption Policy;
• Advised CEO and NDA Board on a broad spectrum of corporate, project delivery and commercial issues;
• Leadership of c £80m p.a. project spend.
We are also able to call on the support of:
Rupert Cowen
(Vectlaw working through Castletown Law). Rupert provides specialist advisory services to the nuclear energy and decommissioning industries on nuclear law and licensing, supply, service and outsourcing contracts and environmental and waste regulation.
Specific Nuclear Experience:
• Taking a leading role in the privatisation of the decommissioning of the UK civil nuclear legacy;
• Advising a consortia including UK Nuclear Waste Management, the owners of Low Level Waste; Repository Limited, Nuclear Management Partners, the owners of Sellafield Limited, and the Cavendish Dounreay Partnership;
• Advising UK NDA Site Licence Companies.
Jonathan Leech
(Vectlaw working through Castletown Law). Jonathan provides support on project and infrastructure work, with a particular emphasis on the energy, nuclear and utilities sectors.
Specific Nuclear Experience:
• Advising on legal and contracting strategies and regulatory issues associated with major nuclear development, decommissioning, waste and reprocessing projects, energy infrastructure and other utility and infrastructure related projects;
• Advising on procurement strategies for development and renewal of UK electricity and gas network infrastructure, including development of multi-party alliance structures and innovative incentive models, as well as broader energy and construction projects.
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