William-James Kettlewell
Biography
William-James Kettlewell is a counsel in the EU Competition and Regulatory Affairs Practice Group of the Brussels office.
Practice Focus
William-James advises businesses on Europe-wide energy, climate and sustainability issues. Thanks to his engineering background, he brings a novel perspective on legal matters as well as a practical understanding of energy and climate policies. His range of expertise spans from the EU's carbon pricing instruments (EU ETS and CBAM), renewable fuels and hydrogen markets, to the EU ESG landscape (EU taxonomy, CSRD, CSDDD, etc.).
Representative Legal Matters
- Assisted multiple clients in assessing the impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on their business and trading activities, taking into account the evolution of the EU ETS, and in developing their compliance strategies.
- Advised multinational companies on developing their reporting strategies to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and Taxonomy Regulation, including by taking into account current and upcoming due diligence obligations (under national and EU law).
- Advised multiple clients on the developing regulatory and market framework for hydrogen and renewable fuels in the EU, including in the context of fuel production and trade projects.
- Assisted in drafting a first-of-its-kind renewable hydrogen purchasing agreement for the trade of hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels through international shipping for a large EU energy company, including in light of the potential impact of the EU Commission's proposal for a CBAM on the hydrogen imports landscape.
- Assisted one of the largest real estate companies in the EU in developing its compliance strategy for the Taxonomy Regulation, including in assessing the wider implications of this new regulatory framework for its real estate business, notably regarding access to green funds.
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Member of the Executive Committee, Incubator of Avocat.be (the technology arm of the Association of French and German Bars) (2018-2020)
- Academic collaborator of the Faculty of Law’s Perelman Center at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (2019-2021)
Admissions
- Brussels~Belgium (2018)
Education
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (Master's degree in Law, magna cum laude, Ganshof van der Meersch Award - awarded to the student who has shown the greatest qualities in the field of Public Law during their studies at the Law and Criminology Faculty) (2018)
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (Master's degree in Engineering, magna cum laude) (2015)
Languages
- English
- French
- Dutch
- Japanese