To: L Collins Our ref: NR Sep02

Date: Day 20 is 25 September 2014

Request for information – Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)

Thank you for your request of 28 August 2014.

You asked:

1. What was Environment Agency’s external legal spend for the financial year 2013/2014?

2. Which external law firms currently advise the Environment Agency?

Requests for information that is recorded are governed by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Response:

1. £2,655,000. However, we recover a substantial proportion of the money we spend on counsel in prosecution work, through cost orders against convicted defendants. In 2013/2014 we secured cost orders for £1,658,000.

2. The following firms are currently advising the Environment Agency:

• Ashfords, BDB (Bircham Dyson Bell) • Bird & Bird, Birketts • • Clarkslegal LLP • Cripps LLP • DLA Piper • Dundas & Wilson • Ellisons • Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP • Ford & Warren Solicitors • Hewitsons LLP • LLP • Hugh James • Kennedys Law LLP

Environment Agency www.environment-agency.gov.uk

• Keoghs, Kidd Rapinet LLP • Lupton Fawcett Dennison Till • Michelmores LLP • Mills & Reeve LLP • Sharpe Pritchard, SJB Legal LLP • TLT • Walker Morris LLP

We also use a number of law firms to take rod and line prosecutions.

Rights of appeal

If you are not satisfied with our response to your request for information you can contact us to ask for our decision to be reviewed. If you are still not satisfied following this, you can then make an appeal to the Information Commissioner, who is the statutory regulator for Freedom of Information.

The address is: Office of the Information Commissioner Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF Tel: 01625 545700 Fax: 01625 524 510 E-mail:[email protected] Website: http//www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

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