James Ross
Senior Associate
Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa Inc
Related services and key industries
Biography
James is Senior Associate in the Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions team situated in the Cape Town office Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa. He is a specialist environmental lawyer whose practice extends across a variety of areas within the NRF Business Law Department.
Prior to joining the Cape Town office, he was situated in the NRF Durban office from 2018 to 2021.
James advises on commercial transactions and regulatory compliance matters across various sectors, including renewable energy, upstream petroleum, project development and manufacturing. His experience includes assisting local and multinational energy companies, project developers and industry associations, as well as multinational insurers in relation to the provision of warranty and indemnity insurance. In addition, he engages regulators in relation to the development of upstream petroleum legislation in South Africa on behalf of private industry.
James holds an LLB, an LLM in environmental law and was admitted as an attorney in 2017.
Professional experience
Collapse all- Attorney, qualified in South Africa 2017
- Drafting, negotiating and concluding agreements involving the transfer of participating interests in offshore exploration rights.
- Advising international oil companies and major stakeholders in the South African upstream petroleum industry in respect of both regulatory and commercial matters.
- Providing environmental legal advice to mining companies in respect of regulatory compliance and potential liabilities.
- Conducting due diligences on midstream and downstream supply chains of major members of the upstream petroleum industry, including the review of customer and franchise agreements.
- Advising on various proposed energy developments in connection with the 2021 Renewable Energy IPP Procurement Programme, including the review of project documents and preparation of environmental opinions and bid documents;
- Advising on various proposed energy developments in connection with the 2020 Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme, including the review of project documents and preparation of environmental opinions and bid documents;
- Providing warranty and indemnity insurance advice to multinational insurers.
- Carrying out detailed environmental due diligences on behalf of various developers and lenders in respect of a large-scale renewable energy developments;
- Providing regulatory and commercial advice to TotalEnergies EP South Africa in respect of its upstream petroleum activities in various exploration blocks offshore South Africa.
- Performing company secretarial duties on behalf of oil and gas industry associations and individual members.
- Providing advice to international maritime insurance underwriters in relation to environmental liability.
- Advising major importers and retailers in relation to various regulatory decisions and engaging with regulators on their behalf.
- Assisting various European and international airlines on litigation and dispute resolution processes in a team management capacity.
- Advising upstream petroleum companies on supply chain risks posed by COVID-19.
- Engaging with regulatory authorities on behalf of the Offshore Petroleum Association of South Africa.
- Environmental Law Association of South Africa.
- International Association of Impact Assessment (South Africa).
- Nicola (Network for Contaminated Land).
- English
News
Insights
Financing a just transition - from promises to plans
Publication | November 08, 2022
South Africa’s expectations at COP27
Publication | November 01, 2022
South Africa's energy sector and the just transition
Publication | November 16, 2021