About Expert Essentials
Included with every Oxford Law Pro subscription, Expert Essentials brings together industry experts with top lawyers, providing you with context about critical topics impacting legal practice to enrich your own expertise.
Expert Essentials:
- Explains technical areas, data and concepts for busy lawyers
- Provides context to non-legal topics relevant to legal practice, written by experts from industry, academia, and law
- Articles include a succinct summary for speed reading and a list of further reading
Launching with three initial categories in environmental science; Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG); and technology, with a robust programme of regular new articles on topical issues.
Environmental Science
Expert Essentials: Environmental Science features four themes of particular relevance to the practicing lawyer:
- Climate Change, attending to the full chain of causation of anthropogenic climate change, from sources (including each Scope of emissions) to the mechanism and evidence of the resulting impacts across multiple global regions.
- Energy, focusing on fossil fuel and renewable energy sources and the method of generation, potential impacts, and recent advances of each.
- Biodiversity articles explore the scientific causation, effects, and remedy of species decline, as well as featuring case studies on specific species and habitats.
- Pollution focuses on the causation, effects, and remedy of many sources of pollution affecting the UK, including those impacting air quality, water quality, and land.
It comprises succinct articles by leading scientific and legal experts, explaining concepts key to each of these subjects for use in litigation and advisory services, including selection and instruction of experts, and contextualising environmental and climate change law globally. Articles are reviewed for their relevance to legal practice.
Each theme also contains content explaining common scientific methodologies related to that subject, and certain high-level articles to assist the reader in bridging the gap between legal and scientific language.
Editors-in-Chief
Oliver Holland
Partner
Leigh Day, UK
Oliver is a partner at Leigh Day, a leading environmental law firm where he represents individuals and communities in taking legal action against corporate polluters. Oliver has successfully represented many thousands of individuals in claims concerning the extractives sector. Oliver currently represents tens of thousands of claimants across the UK and internationally including matters concerning environmental damage from the extractives sector, air pollution from emissions from diesel vehicles, and pollution of the UK’s waterways and seas by agricultural and sewage pollution.
Joanna Haigh
Professor (Emeritus)
Imperial College London, UK
Joanna studied physics at Oxford University and Imperial College London. She became a lecturer at Imperial, later Professor of Atmospheric Physics and Head of the Blackett Laboratory. For five years before her retirement in 2019 she was Co-Director of the Grantham Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. She has won prizes from the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) and the Institute of Physics, been President of RMetS and a Lead Author of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 2013 she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
Editor: Climate Change
Joyce Kimutai
Climate Scientist
Imperial College London, UK
Joyce Kimutai is a climate scientist specializing in attribution science. She is part of the World Weather Attribution initiative, based at Imperial College London. She co-chairs the Climate Research Forum Working Group on Loss and Damage under FILE at the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme.
Editor: Pollution
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
ESG refers to environmental, social, and governance concepts (also now known as the ESG pillars) which comprise non-financial risks and opportunities for companies and organisations. Expert Essentials: ESG equips legal professionals with the foresight and case examples to navigate the complex and rapidly evolving ESG landscape.
Environmental
Corporations respond differently to a growing awareness of climate change and other critical environmental issues such as the depletion of resources, waste and water management and contamination, biodiversity loss, and habitat destruction. The environmental articles enable lawyers to understand the status of the science, the setting of international targets, the implementation of national policies and measures, and technological developments and obstacles to their deployment.
Social
Many companies and countries have introduced legislation and practices simultaneously to increase productivity and worker wellbeing through increased focus on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) and supply chain labour standards (addressing the issue of modern slavery). These have brought numerous advantages but have also, more recently, been seen by some as too intrusive and directional. The articles in this pillar highlight optimal operational practices in human rights, social impact investment, labour practices, industrial relations, consumer protection, health and safety, and the legal and policy frameworks in which they operate.
Governance
Good governance is fundamental to maintaining public trust, attracting investment, and ensuring long-term organisational success. Governance refers to the rules, relationships, and transparency framework that ensure accountability and ethical behaviour. The articles in this pillar address emerging trends in corporate governance, including shareholder rights, board composition (including board diversity), directors’ duties and compensation, and corporate behaviour (including anti-competitive practices and corruption).
Editors-in-Chief
Dr. Silke Goldberg
Partner and Global Head of ESG
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, UK
Dr Silke Goldberg is a partner and Global Head of ESG at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP. She has over 20 years' experience in the energy sector and has advised companies all over the world in relation to energy and climate issues.
Previously, Silke was a chair of the Legal Response International, an NGO advising developing countries in relation to the UNFCCC negotiations and a board member of Chapter Zero UK.
Silke is a visiting professor at the university of Groningen and Queen Mary University of London where she teaches climate and energy law. Her practice focusses on the energy transition, climate change, carbon markets and clean energy across the entire value chain. Silke is admitted to practice in Germany, France and England.
Antony Froggatt
Senior Director of Aviation, Shipping and Energy
Transport and Environment, Belgium
Antony Froggatt is the Senior Director of Aviation, Shipping and Energy at the Brussels-based think tank Transport and Environment. Previously, he served as Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow in the Energy, Environment, and Resources Department at Chatham House in London, where he focused on global energy policy and the geopolitics of climate change.
With over three decades of experience, Antony has collaborated with environmental organisations, academic institutions, and public bodies globally, particularly across Europe and Asia, contributing to a broad spectrum of projects addressing energy and environmental challenges.
Editor: Environmental
Henrietta Hunter
Lead Strategist
Forum for the Future, UK
Henrietta Hunter is a lead strategist at Forum for the Future, a leading international sustainability non-profit. Her work in sustainability and ESG consultancies has focussed on designing and embedding sustainability strategies in global businesses, developing plans to effect real, lasting behaviour change, and providing technical advice to C-suite, investors, and governments.
Editor: Social
Antony Crockett
Partner
Herbert Smith Freehills, Hong Kong
Antony Crockett is a Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills Hong Kong specialising in public international law including Business and Human Rights and complex cross-border dispute resolution. He leads HSF’s global Business and Human Rights practice and is a member of the firm's ESG leadership group.
Editor: Governance
Guðrún Johnsen
Dean of the Faculty of Business
Bifrost University, Iceland
Guðrún Johnsen is Dean of the Faculty of Business at Bifrost University Iceland and associate professor of finance. Guðrún is an experienced board member and trustee. During her academic career she has written extensively on executive pay, especially banker's pay and how incentive schemes in banks contributed to the Great Financial Crisis.
Technology
Expert Essentials: Technology articles unpack the latest technological advancements reshaping the day-to-day work of lawyers and their practice areas. From the transformative potential of artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technology (DLT) to the emerging applications of augmented reality, this collection of articles explores key technology topics relevant to legal professionals.
Generative AI is rapidly transforming industries, presenting both opportunities and challenges that demand legal expertise. Understanding how these systems learn from data to create content, predict outcomes, and automate tasks is crucial for advising clients on intellectual property, data privacy, and liability issues. Similarly, distributed ledger technology (DLT) underpins digital assets, smart contracts, and decentralized finance. Many lawyers need to grasp the intricacies of DLT to counsel clients navigating this evolving landscape, particularly in finance and commercial transactions.
The foundations of modern digital infrastructure—software development lifecycles, cloud computing architectures, and microchip technologies—are becoming increasingly relevant to legal work. Lawyers involved in technology transactions, data security, and regulatory compliance will profit from a solid understanding of these core elements. Cloud security protocols and the nuances of different cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), for example, can be essential considerations in contract negotiations and compliance strategies. Finally, emerging technologies like quantum computing hold the potential to revolutionize computation, raising novel legal questions surrounding cybersecurity and data protection.
Staying informed of these developments will allow legal professionals to advise clients on potential applications, risks, and regulatory considerations. Each article is carefully crafted and reviewed to provide legal practitioners with the essential knowledge and context needed to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
Editors-in-Chief
Dr Sam De Silva
Partner and Global Co-Head of the Commercial Practice Group
CMS, UK
Dr Sam De Silva is an award-winning Partner and Global Co-Head of the Commercial Practice Group at CMS. Renowned for his legal expertise in navigating complex and strategic technology projects, he provides insightful guidance on all contractual matters and regularly advises on AI legal issues and risk management. His clients include FTSE 100 companies and cutting-edge scale-ups, representing both technology users and suppliers. Sam is recognised as both a Global Leader and Thought Leader in the Who’s Who of Information Technology 2025, the Who’s Who of Data Privacy and Protection 2025, the Who’s Who of Data Security 2025 and won Lexology’s Client Choice Awards in 2021, 2024 and 2025 for Data law in the UK.
Minesh Tanna
Partner and Global AI Lead
Simmons & Simmons, UK
Minesh is a Partner and the Global AI Lead at the international law firm, Simmons & Simmons. He has been focusing on AI law and regulation for almost a decade, and is an industry-recognised leader in this field, ranked in the Hall of Fame by Legal 500. As well as advising leading technology firms, financial institutions and national governments, Minesh contributes to AI policy most notably through his roles as Chair of the Society of Computers and Law (SCL) AI Group and Chair of the City of London Law Society (CLLS) AI Committee.
Professor Danielle George
Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering
University of Manchester, UK
Danielle George is a Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering at the University of Manchester. She was President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in 2020/21 and currently a Vice President of the British Computer Society, Chartered Institute for IT. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 Queen’s honours list for services to engineering through public engagement. In 2016 she received the Royal Academy of Engineering Rooke Medal for services to engineering and in 2017 received the Harold Hartley Medal for outstanding contribution to the field of Measurement and Control. She was appointed Commander of the British Empire, CBE, in the Kings 2024 new years honours list for services to engineering through public engagement.
Sébastien Krier
Policy Development & Strategy Manager
Google DeepMind, UK
Séb Krier is a Policy Development & Strategy Manager at Google DeepMind, focusing on AGI and frontier AI governance. Previously, he was a Senior Technology Policy Researcher at Stanford University's Cyber Policy Centre, examining AI's impact on foreign policy, cybersecurity, and global development. Séb's work in AI governance began at the UK Government's Office for Artificial Intelligence in 2018, informing his subsequent advisory roles with various governments and organizations. He qualified in international arbitration and disputes at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, contributing to his interdisciplinary approach that bridges legal expertise, government experience, and academic research in AI governance.
Editor: AI Fundamentals
Tharin Pillay
Writer, Researcher, and Editorial Fellow
TIME Magazine, South Africa
Tharin Pillay Tharin Pillay is a writer, researcher, and editorial fellow at TIME Magazine, focused on how AI and other digital technologies are changing us. He is currently supported by the Tarbell Fellowship.
Editor: AI Governance, Safety, and Ethics
Joanna J Bryson
Professor of Ethics and Technology
Hertie School, Germany
Joanna J Bryson has been Professor of Ethics and Technology at Hertie School, Berlin since February 2020. She consults frequently on policy and science to government entities transnational organisations and NGOs. In 2020, Germany nominated her to the Global Partnership of AI, where she chaired an AI Governance committee.
Katie Evans
Assistant Professor in the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science
Sorbonne University, France
Katie Evans is an assistant professor in the ethics of artificial intelligence and cognitive science at Sorbonne University. She is also a consultant in the AI governance ecosystem, and is the chief representative of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Scott Robbins, M.Sc., PhD
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
Scott Robbins, is a Post-Doctoral researcher at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and a Founding Member of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics. He has authored peer-reviewed journal articles in the field of ethics and artificial intelligence. His current research focuses on meaningful human control over AI.
Editor: Cloud Computing
Jacqui Taylor
CEO and co-Founder
FlyingBinary, UK
Jacqui Taylor is CEO and co-Founder of FlyingBinary and is recognised as one of the Global Top 10 Internet of Things Innovators. She advises the UK, EU, G20 and the United Nations on Emerging Technology, Cloud, Data, Artificial Intelligence, IIoT, Quantum Computing, Robotics, Metaverse, Data, Technology and Sustainability and the use of both Open and Proprietary Standards.
Editor: Cybersecurity
Jennifer R. Davidson
Partner
Deeth Williams Wall, Canada
Jennifer R. Davidson is a partner at Deeth Williams Wall (Toronto) and Co-Chair of the Technology Law Group, practicing in Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Technology law. Jennifer advises on the digital risk lifecycle, including incident preparedness, response, ransomware negotiations, mitigation, and regulatory compliance.
Editor: Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies
Charles Kerrigan
Partner
CMS LLP, UK
Charles Kerrigan is a Partner at CMS LLP, a Board Member at RAK DAO, and holds board and advisory roles in fintech firms and trade bodies in the UK and internationally. He is a specialist in corporate finance, crypto and digital assets, and in AI. He is the author of books and articles on crypto, AI, technology, and consulting.
