DLA Piper appoints new partner as International Co-Head of Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) and Product Compliance

DLA Piper has appointed Nick Rock as International Co-Head of Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) and Product Compliance. Nick joins from Reed Smith where over the past decade he has been responsible for the establishment and impressive growth of the firm’s international Environmental Health & Safety and Product Compliance practice.

Nick will join alongside partner Teresa Hitchcock, who together will head up DLA Piper’s international SHE and Product Compliance team. His appointment will also further enhance the firm’s established Sustainability and ESG practice, coordinated by International Head of Litigation and Regulatory, Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry and Global Co-Chair of Energy and Natural Resources, Natasha Luther-Jones.

Nick is a market leading practitioner in his field, with over 25 years’ experience specializing in UK, EU and International SHE, Product Compliance, Chemicals and Climate Change laws. He has been consistently ranked as a leading individual in these areas by all of the leading directories for well over a decade. He previously spent 12 years with Freshfields and now joins from Reed Smith where over the past decade he has been responsible for the establishment and impressive growth of the firm’s international Environmental, Health and Safety and Product Compliance practice.

On the contentious side, Nick handles civil, criminal and administrative environmental, health & safety and climate change disputes. On the non-contentious side, he is highly regarded for his work on global product compliance and circular economy issues, with a wealth of experience in the regulatory aspects of bringing a new product to market, importation, distribution, supply and recall and end-of-life take back, particularly in the technology sector. He is also well known for handling the environmental aspects of complex and large projects, particularly in the energy and natural resources and chemicals sectors in which he has extensive experience of handling on and off-shore soil, water, air quality and natural habitat pollution issues.

Commenting on the appointment, International Head of DLA Piper’s Litigation and Regulatory Practice, Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry, said:

“There has been a significant increase in safety, health and environmental issues over recent years with a subsequent global drive by governments and the public to regulate these through areas through legal measures, not least of which being the EU’s Green Deal and Circular Economy issues. DLA Piper has been building areas of expertise to help clients navigate this rapidly changing landscape for some time and our global footprint perfectly complements Nick’s international practice and client-base. His appointment will be invaluable in continuing to build our SHE and Product Compliance offering on an international scale and will ensure that we continue to deliver the most up to date and value added advice in this area, alongside the other initiatives that we have running within the firm.”