Estelle Dehon KC appointed OBE in King’s Birthday Honours List for services to environmental law
Climate Litigation, Planning & Environment
Cornerstone Barristers is delighted to announce that Estelle Dehon KC has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List for services to environmental law.
Estelle is one of the UK’s leading environmental and climate law practitioners. Called to the Bar in 2006 and appointed King’s Counsel in 2022, she has appeared in some of the most significant environmental and climate-related cases of recent years, including the groundbreaking Supreme Court decision in Finch, concerning the climate impacts of fossil fuel development.
Environmental law champion
Estelle has been a trustee of the UK Environmental Law Association since 2019 and was, for three years, a trustee of the Women’s Environmental Network. Through both those organisations, and through her ongoing active involvement in mentorship schemes, Estelle has worked to further access to the Bar and to champion women in particular, both in the profession and in environmental law more widely.
Since 2022, Estelle has been Co-Chair of the Bar Council’s Climate Crisis Working Group (which this year became the Climate and Nature Panel), where she is leading work on producing ethical guidance for barristers on climate change and the rules of professional conduct. As part of her climate and nature work, Estelle has promoted Environmental and Social Governance initiatives across the legal sector. She is also a founding volunteer of Don’t Waste Buildings, which works to put a spotlight on up-front, or embodied, carbon in the built environment and make the case for the productive use of empty and underperforming buildings.
Founding Cornerstone Climate
In 2023, Estelle founded Cornerstone Climate, a cross-disciplinary centre of excellence for climate litigation and advice. The honour comes shortly after the publication of The Cornerstone Climate Guide: Key Concepts and Definitions, produced by Cornerstone Climate under Estelle’s leadership. The Guide aims to demystify climate terminology and promote greater understanding of climate-conscious language, making complex scientific, legal and policy concepts accessible to a wider audience. Inspired by the Supreme Court’s observation in Finch that people can only care about what they know about, the Guide seeks to remove barriers to understanding one of the defining issues of our time. It provides accessible explanations of key climate concepts, legislation and policy, while supporting climate upskilling across the legal profession and beyond.
Estelle’s achievements have been recognised through numerous professional honours. She has appeared in every ENDS Report Power List of environmental professionals since 2022, received a Climate Law & Governance Global Leadership Award at COP27, was named Planning/Environment Silk of the Year at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2024, Environmental/Sustainability Bar Champion of the Year at the Legal 500 UK ESG Awards 2024, and Barrister of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2025.
We warmly congratulate Estelle on this richly deserved recognition and look forward to celebrating this significant achievement with her.
