By Anthony Whealy, Partner

Mills Oakley are thrilled to announce that our newest team member is none other than former Land and Environment Court Commissioner Danielle Dickson!

Danielle commenced with our Planning and Environmental law team this week as a full-time solicitor.  A town planner and lawyer with architectural qualifications and experience, before joining Mills Oakley she served as a Commissioner of the Land and Environment Court for a full decade, a role in which she delivered written decisions in approximately 650 merit appeals, and presided over hundreds of section 34 conciliation conferences and mediations relating to property development disputes. She has also previously held senior management roles within Local Government and therefore deeply understands the complex layers of decision-making and negotiating which developers in NSW must navigate.

We truly believe Danielle’s unique experience and multi-disciplinary skills will prove to be a wonderful asset to our clients and their consultant teams, both in an advisory capacity, and for litigious matters in the Courts.

Partner Anthony Whealy asked rhetorically “Who better to evaluate and advise upon the strengths and weaknesses of development / planning applications, and to offer bespoke solutions and strategic advice, than someone with Danielle’s experience? If you think about it, with all of her years of experience and having presided over so many development appeals, there really would not be a single issue or argument relating to NSW planning laws that Danielle hasn’t heard and probably adjudicated upon – whether it is how to interpret ADG provisions, or assessing view-loss and shadow impacts, or applying the Court’s myriad of Planning Principles, or how to measure GFA and ‘building height’, through to more complex legal issues such as existing use rights – Danielle will have dealt with all of them. What a benefit that will be to our team and to our clients!  And of course, it will be a bit of fun to see Danielle back in Court but on the other side of the bench!”

Please feel free to contact either Danielle directly ([email protected]) or Anthony Whealy ([email protected] or 0423 772 847) if you have any matters / issues you would like Danielle’s assistance with.

And again, on behalf of all of the Partners and staff at Mills Oakley, welcome Danielle!