Jessica Baldwin

Jessica is a NSW Law Society accredited specialist in planning and environment law, with extensive experience advising and acting for government and private clients.

Jessica has built a career advising on complex environmental and planning matters, including development pathways, compulsory acquisition, contamination, and environmental controls.

Jessica practices mainly in the Class 1, 3, and 5 jurisdictions of the NSW Land and Environment Court, and regularly provides expert guidance on navigating legal and regulatory processes for government and private clients.

Jessica’s experience includes:

• acting in Class 5 criminal proceedings for Council and NSW Government agencies for breaches of environmental and planning laws
• acting for council and NSW Government agencies in Class 1 proceedings regarding complex planning regimes and regulations
• advising and acting for government agencies and private clients on numerous compulsory acquisitions matters through all stages of the process, including pre-acquisition negotiations, post-acquisition negotiations, and Class 3 appeals in the Land and Environment Court
• acting for a company in the Supreme Court in a nuisance and negligence claim regarding land and groundwater contamination, including complex hydrogeological issues
• successfully obtained a development consent for a private developer in Class 1 Proceedings in the Land and Environment Court, following the refusal of Council’s Local Planning Panel of a four-storey residential flat building in Coogee: MKD Architects Pty Ltd v Randwick City Council [2022] NSWLEC 1112.