Ricardo Gama
Partner
Ricardo specialises in judicial review claims, in particular on environmental issues.
Ricardo is a partner in the human rights and public law department of Leigh Day. He challenges government and public body decisions on environmental and human rights issues, including in particular trans rights.
He has a very strong background in planning law. Before joining the firm 2021, Ricardo worked at Richard Buxton Environmental and Public Law, after several years as a planning lawyer and founding associate of Town Legal LLP, a leading planning firm.
Recent cases include:
-
Acting for River Action and Coalition Against Factory Farming in cases relating to intensive agriculture units, whether manure should be treated as waste in legal terms, and the Environment Agency’s approach to manure spreading on farmland.
-
Acting for River Action and Wild Justice in cases relating to the lack of regulation of sewage discharges.
-
Acting for Trans Lucent and Good Law Project in cases challenging the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s approach to trans inclusion following the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland.
-
Acting for Wild Justice in various challenges to the government’s approach to gamebird releases, grazing on Dartmoor and badger culling.
-
Acting in greenwashing cases concerning the meat and dairy, and farming lobbies.
-
Acting in challenges to the approval of plans for the expansion of Bristol, Luton and City airports.
-
Acting in a challenge to the government’s plan for decarbonising aviation, the Jet Zero Strategy, without any demand management measures.
-
Acting in various challenges to waste incinerators.
-
Acting for Rights: Community: Action in challenges to the government’s policy on energy efficiency standards in new homes.
-
Acting in many planning cases challenging grants of planning permission in urban areas and in the green belt.
Accreditations
Chambers and Partners 2026
News and blogs
North London cafe operator given green light for legal challenge
North London cafe operator Hoxton Beach has been given permission to bring a legal claim against the City of London Corporation over its decision to award three cafes to another operator.
Advertising watchdog urged to investigate advertising of hair relaxers targeting Black women and girls
Feminist campaign group Level Up has submitted further evidence to the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to support its complaint that the marketing of chemical hair relaxers targeted at Black women and girls is misleading.
Campaigners plan to take challenge against Chinese super-embassy to Court of Appeal
Campaigners say they will take a legal challenge against plans to redevelop the Royal Mint Court site into a new Chinese embassy to the Court of Appeal.