Sam Allam
Biography
Sam is a Special Counsel in our Environment and Climate Change practice, based in Sydney.
He is known for providing incisive advice to manage environment and climate change issues, especially risks and opportunities most acute to the renewable energy and digital economy transitions. This positions clients to meet regulatory, governance, and shareholder expectations from a whole-of-environment and ESG perspective.
Sam has been operating in this field for more than 10 years, in private practice and in-house. This includes working inside one of Australia’s biggest renewable energy companies where he led the Environment Team and reported to the GC and COO.
Before joining Baker McKenzie three years ago, Sam was a Senior Associate at a top tier law firm in Sydney.
His regular column – the "Whole of Environment Report" – is published by The Fifth Estate (a leading Australian newspaper on the sustainable environment). The column targets the C-suite and leaders in government. It draws on Sam’s day-to-day work and through its conversational style offers rare clarity on subjects like emissions reduction targets, mandatory climate reporting, corporate governance, greenwashing, the voluntary carbon (ACCUs) market, Australia’s new nature repair market, climate change litigation, nuclear energy and offshore wind.
Sam is a guest lecturer on environment law, renewable energy, sustainability and climate change at the University of Melbourne Law School.
Practice Focus
Sam's is an advisory, transactional, and litigation practice.
His focus is on decarbonisation and major projects directed at Australia’s energy and technology transitions such as wind, solar, and battery farms, pumped hydro, waste-to-energy projects, and recycling facilities. This work encompasses critical state infrastructure, commercial and industrial assets, and projects for the tech industry like data centres.
In addition to countless environmental due diligence workstreams, Sam has run more than 100 cases nearly all in the Land and Environment Court, Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and Federal Court on the acceptability of environmental impacts.
He also advises ASX-listed and other global companies on ESG exposures and opportunities, sustainability ambitions, dependencies on natural capital and corporate disclosure obligations.
Representative Legal Matters
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Successfully obtaining the first development approval for a solar farm in NSW from the Land and Environment Court. This remains the only solar farm to be approved by the Court in NSW after a full hearing.
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Completing environmental diligence in 2024 on complex Australia-wide corporate transactions in the energy and tech industries with a total deal value exceeding AUD 30 billion, including approval requirements, managing contamination, and advising on core transaction documents such as warranties and indemnities.
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Advising numerous clients on greenhouse gas emissions issues, the Safeguard Mechanism, the carbon market and the ACCUs scheme, land restoration, biodiversity offsets, the new nature repair market, and risks arising from greenwashing.
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Conducting environmental diligence for the offshore buyer of one of NSW’s largest power stations.
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Advising on the beneficial re-use of land in the Sydney metropolitan area including for major new waste and resource recovery facilities. This process covers approval requirements from all levels of government, managing community engagement, and negotiating with regulators.
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Advising companies on business as usual operations relating to compliance with environment and development approvals, regulatory investigations and prosecutions, compulsory acquisition (and just terms compensation), and general law actions relating to potential breaches of law.
Corporate Responsibility
Sam is passionate about doing First Nations work pro bono and pursues any opportunity to advance the interests of Indigenous peoples.
Admissions
- High Court of Australia (2021)
- Supreme Court of New South Wales (2014)
Education
- University of Sydney (Law (Distinction Average)) (2013)
- University of Sydney (Arts (Honours in English)) (2011)
Languages
- English