Congratulations to Ruchi Parekh – Legal 500 Bar Awards Planning / Land Use Junior of the Year
Cornerstone Climate, Public Law and Judicial Review, Planning and Environment
We are delighted to announce that Ruchi Parekh has been named Planning / Land Use Junior of the Year at the Legal 500 Bar Awards 2025. This prestigious accolade recognises her exceptional contribution to planning and environmental law, and her standing as one of the leading juniors at the Bar.
Ruchi has built a formidable reputation for her expertise in complex planning, environmental and climate-related matters. She is consistently ranked as a leading junior in Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, praised for her intellectual rigour, strategic insight, and ability to distil complex legal issues with clarity.
Her practice spans judicial reviews, statutory appeals, planning inquiries, and major infrastructure projects. She has been instructed in some of the most significant and high-profile cases of recent years, including:
- R (Finch) v Surrey CC – the landmark Supreme Court case on downstream greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel development.
- Judicial reviews involving both onshore and offshore oil and gas licensing, including the licensing round in the North Sea.
- Major energy infrastructure projects including large-scale solar farms, offshore windfarms and Sizewell C nuclear power station.
Ruchi is also regularly instructed in relation to large residential and retail developments as well as local plan examinations. Her expertise extends across policy interpretation, affordable housing, enforcement, and climate-related planning issues.
Beyond her casework, Ruchi has been recognised as one of The Planner’s Women of Influence (2023) and was named in the ENDS Report’s Power List of the UK’s most influential environmental professionals – one of only three barristers to be included. She is a member of the Attorney General’s B Panel of Counsel.
We warmly congratulate Ruchi on this outstanding success.
