John Baird

John is a Partner in our real estate practice and focuses on advising clients on planning law, which he has specialised in since the mid-1990s.

He represents landowners, developers, retailers and tenants in all aspects of planning. Before joining Osborne Clarke in 2003, John spent a period of time working in-house at the London Borough of Greenwich, giving him an insight and perspective on the workings of local authorities and their priorities during the planning process.

He has since advised clients on both contentious and non-contentious planning issues, ranging from planning applications and environmental statements through to judicial reviews of planning decisions. John acts for clients on policy work, where he deals with the government on their behalf to get their views heard on reforms to planning law that will impact their businesses. He handles residential, retail, distribution and strategic land development work and has also advised clients all aspects of compulsory purchase law, including references to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).

He is a member of the Compulsory Purchase Association, the Home Builders Federation of Builders and the Constitutional and Administrative Law Bar Association. John qualified as a lawyer in 1995 and joined Osborne Clarke in 2003, becoming a Partner in 2008