Environmental law is a growth area, especially given the increasing global awareness of issues such as climate change and the need for alternative energy sources. It seeks to guard against pollution and to minimise the impact of human activity on the natural world. This sweeping objective means that environmental lawyers are involved in a wide range of matters, from health and safety, risk management, contaminated land, waste, renewable energy and environmental finance to commercial and property transactions, nuclear law and litigation. Clients can include individuals, community groups, companies of all sizes, local authorities and government.

A pioneer in the field, Keith Davidson was one of the first lawyers to specialise in environmental law back in the 1990s when it was emerging as a practice area in its own right. Keith trained at Northern Ireland firm Tughans, where he was encouraged to develop his interest in the specialism; he carried out a detailed study of Northern Irish environmental legislation (which was retained by the Law Society as research material) and set up the firm's environment and planning law practice.

Keith's passion for the discipline was clear to his colleagues, who encouraged him to hone his trade and seek out relevant experience at a London firm. He took this advice and, after completing an LLM in environmental law at the School of Oriental and African Studies, landed a job on Nabarro's environment team. A few career moves later and today he is the head of environment and energy at Pannone.

Although it was personal interest and concern for the environment that drew Keith to the sector, he is wary of encouraging others to pursue this career path if their motivation for doing so is purely ethical. "An environmental lawyer's role will always involve improving environmental standards and educating businesses. However, if you want to practise environmental law in a large firm, be prepared to work in a high-pressure corporate environment. For that reason, many people who practise in this field actually come from a corporate or industry background."

The practice focus and workload of environmental practitioners vary hugely from firm to firm. At Pannone, Keith focuses on the non-contentious side of things: "I am effectively a business adviser who helps clients to minimise environmental liabilities and take advantage of commercial opportunities. I provide environmental support in corporate and property transactions; and advise companies on UK and EU environmental law compliance, brownfield site development, the transfer of contaminated land liabilities when selling sites and climate change legislation such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme."

Environment and energy issues now have dramatic financial and PR implications for businesses - which, as Keith explains, is why environmental lawyers have shifted from the back room to front of house. "Our services are much easier to sell now," he says. "Fifteen years ago, there was a perception that being too green was anti-business, but that's just not the case anymore. As a business, if you're not making environment one of your top three priorities, your company is going to fail - so we no longer need to convince businesses that they need our services." And demand will only continue to grow: "Much like undertakers, environmental lawyers are always going to have work. The pressure on natural resources and the energy crisis are only going to get worse, so environmental and sustainability issues will from now on always be at the fore."

One such service that can be profitable is providing legislative updates for businesses. Pannone does this in partnership with an environmental regeneration charity called Groundwork, offering an Environment Legislation Update Service (ELUS) - a register of legislation updated specifically for each company. In a tender, businesses can use their ELUS membership to demonstrate that they tick all the boxes when it comes to the environment.

To keep businesses ahead of the game, environmental practitioners must be clued up themselves. Keith advises budding lawyers to start getting on top of current developments now by reading publications and journals such as ENDS or PLC Environment, and attending events organised by the UK Environmental Law Association. But his key advice when it comes to breaking into the field is to stand out. "I've looked at lots of CVs and very few have interested me," he admits. "One that did was a guy who'd worked as a legal adviser in Brussels specialising in EU environmental law. He caught my eye because I knew that if I was speaking to any chemical company or manufacturer and had him on my team, we could offer a watching brief on EU law - where 90% of environmental law comes from. That would be a major selling point."

Postgraduate study in environmental law is an excellent way to gain sector knowledge and one that Keith would recommend. If you do think this route is one you'd like to go down, he suggests studying something that will appeal to businesses: "If I were to study my LLM now, I would learn about an area such as feed-in tariffs or the Carbon Reduction Commitment because detailed knowledge of green incentives and taxes would be attractive to a range of businesses. I'd investigate what other countries are doing as well - Germany, Sweden and Finland, for example, are streets ahead of the United Kingdom on solar energy and support for clean-tech companies. That kind of sector knowledge would instantly open doors."

Keith's final word for prospective environment lawyers is to go for it: "If you stay focused and give 100%, there are many opportunities in private practice and industry. It is a competitive environment and you are always being watched, so if a partner gives you a task, make it the best bit of work you have ever done."