Founder & Strategic Counsel

Janet Howard is the founder and strategic leader of Terra Firma Law, a boutique corporate firm advising clients across the energy, natural resources, industrials, financial services, and emerging technology sectors.  She is known for combining rigorous legal analysis with commercial fluency, sectoral insight, and a distinctive ability to translate complex technical realities into clear, actionable strategy.

With a career spanning major transactions, cross‑border projects, and high‑stakes governance mandates, Janet architects strategic investments and partnerships, sector‑leading agreements, and complex M&A, joint venture, and capital‑structuring transactions that bridge legacy systems with the demands of a rapidly evolving energy and industrial landscape. Her work is grounded in a deep understanding of the operational, regulatory, and geopolitical forces shaping the energy transition — from hydrogen and critical minerals to supply‑chain resilience and technology commercialization.

Clients rely on Janet for her ability to see around corners. She synthesizes technical, regulatory, and commercial inputs into frameworks that de‑risk decisions, align stakeholders, and accelerate strategic outcomes.  Her approach centres on stakeholder alignment, negotiation strategy, and cross‑functional coordination — capabilities that determine whether complex transactions in energy and natural resources close cleanly and on enduring terms.

Janet’s counsel is sought by executive teams, boards, and institutional investors, navigating growth, transition, capital deployment, partnership development, and complex regulatory environments.