Associate/Senior Associate, Projects

Department: Projects

Location: Glasgow or Edinburgh (Team primarily based in Edinburgh)

Duration: Permanent

Reports to: Partner

PQE: 4 +

Direct reports: None

Reference no.: 8689

The Department

Our award‑winning Projects team has a long heritage of advising private sector clients and Government, across a full spectrum of sectors covering energy, transport and infrastructure. It has been recognised in the upper tiers of the Legal 500 and Chambers for decades, for electricity (including renewables), oil & gas and rail for many years and, historically has been recognised for water and PFI/PPP expertise.

The Projects practice is integrated across our offices in Scotland as well as those in England, Ireland and the Middle East giving members of the team the opportunity to advise on renowned transactions and regulatory work throughout our core sectors and works collectively with our Dentons offices throughout the world giving access to work in other jurisdictions. In fact, we actively encourage our staff to get to know people in other offices. This reflects the firm\’s strategy and aspiration to be the largest global law firm in Scotland serving clients both in Scotland but who also have aspirations beyond the Scottish market.

The Team

On Transport and Infrastructure matters, the team combines a deep expertise with sophisticated market knowledge. We are active in all infrastructure sectors across the UK and internationally including rail, airports, health, education, roads, bridges and tunnels, prisons, public buildings, housing, water, wastewater, waste, defence and telecoms projects, acting for the full spectrum of stakeholders. We are the law firm that holds positions on the most HM Government legal services panels and advise a wide range of Government clients on energy, transport and infrastructure matters, which gives our lawyers the opportunity to work on major reforms and groundbreaking transactions as the UK drives to reach net zero. We have significant engagements on the pipeline of DPC projects in the water sector and have a Tier 1 rail team.

On Energy matters, the team are advancing the energy transition revolution, working with developers, funders, multi‑lateral agencies, contractors and governments to provide innovative advice and insight to clients and helping equip businesses with effective solutions across the energy sector, from transactional and regulatory advice to political guidance and dispute resolution. Most recently we were HMG\’s primary advisor on all legislation and delivery of the energy prices intervention schemes – one of the largest government interventions in history and one that has touched almost every individual and business in the UK and on the establishment of NESO (a transaction that won the Lawyer\’s energy transaction of the year award). Offshore wind is a significant area of growth with clients including the UK\’s largest offshore transmission operator. We also work closely with clients in the traditional power and oil & gas sectors on their net zero programmes, and we have active developer clients whom we are advising on their entry into new sectors such as Hydrogen, Carbon Capture & Storage and sustainable aviation fuel.

The team also works in the UK PFI/PPP sector and on project finance transaction generally including on behalf of the National Wealth Fund. We work on the full lifespan of these projects, and in recent times have been very busy on project variations, extensions and restructurings, as well as the handing back of public assets from project companies to government bodies.

Key clients of the team include: Alba Infrastructure, Diamond Transmission Partners, OCS group, bp, Centrica, Pale Blue Dot (project counsel for the Acorn CCUS project), Dalmore Capital, Network Rail, Stagecoach, Harbour Energy, UK Government (all major departments), Ofwat, Aggreko, Shell, Statkraft, Envac, National Wealth Fund and Scottish National Investment Bank.

The Role

This is a role for lawyers with an inquisitive mind, who want to be challenged intellectually and want to make a difference, where the projects they are working on can make headlines, contribute to the fight against climate change and stimulate UK infrastructure growth. You will work on things that are unique or being done for the first time and will need to address new challenges across the diversity of project types.

You can expect to work with an interesting variety of both private and public sector clients, working on a range of transactions across the market. Most of our work relates to projects in the UK and Ireland, however there may be some opportunities to work on international projects. The variety of work and client base means we are looking for candidates with a good understanding of risk (both legal and commercial) and solid contractual skills who will not be phased by taking on new contractual challenges.

You will need to be a problem solver too, capable of assessing where a risk best sits and working with all parties to reach a favourable outcome.

You will be front and centre when it comes to client relationships allowing you ample opportunity for business development and for you to establish your own practice as you progress through your chosen career path. The role offers a substantial opportunity for progression to Senior Associate/Counsel or Partner for the right candidate.

With an respected roster of energy and infrastructure clients, the team is also uniquely positioned to provide valuable secondment opportunities for our associates, giving them insight into the commercial challenges faced by our clients. In addition we offer internal mini‑secondments to our London, Ireland and Middle Eastern offices.

It is anticipated that this role will be office or hybrid based, however we are open to considering a fully remote role for candidates with the requisite experience.

Technical Skills

• Outstanding academic record.
• Ability to work independently.
• Ability to absorb and to draft detailed contractual documentation.
• Projects experience across infrastructure/transport sector and/or energy (Project finance, PPP experience welcome).
• Excellent project management skills.
• Capable of working effectively within a large team.
• Rail experience is preferable.

Personal attributes

• 4 years+ PQE.
• Is dedicated to exceptional client service.
• Willingness to learn about the markets we operate in.
• Excellent problem solving and decision‑making skills.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills.
• Demonstrates good judgement and resilience skills.
• Financial and business awareness.
• Willingness to work on a wide range of transactions across all of our areas and offices of practice.

Training Programme

Investing in the professional development of Dentons lawyers is a priority and aligned to our strategic goal to retain and develop exceptional talent across the UKIME region. Our people need to have the skills expected of a lawyer of the future right now, which means being commercially and technically savvy; with a high level of emotional intelligence, innovative and confident; focused and resilient.

You have the freedom to succeed and develop your career your way. We provide an environment where you thrive, where you feel enabled, empowered, and able to be at your best, at work and at home. We know that to do this, there is great value in understanding yourself, your unique strengths and how you can leverage these to unleash your full potential and achieve your career goals.

Our Senior Development Training for Senior Associates is an award‑winning intensive development programme for high performing lawyers from both UKIME and Europe. It offers a challenging learning and development experience using innovative techniques to prepare our lawyers for the next step in their career.

Our Government and Public Law Academy is a 30+ module programme that trains our people how to work with our Government clients.

Firm Profile

Across more than 80 countries, Dentons helps you grow, protect, operate and finance your organisation by providing uniquely global and deeply local legal solutions. Polycentric, purpose-driven and committed to inclusion, diversity, equity and sustainability, we focus on what matters most to you. www.dentons.com

Inclusion and Diversity

We are committed to building an inclusive culture here at Dentons where our people can thrive, regardless of their background or circumstance. As well as being the right thing to do, it makes good business sense too. A richness of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives helps us best serve our clients and the communities in which we operate. You can find out more about inclusion and diversity at Dentons here: Inclusion and Diversity.

Dentons is committed to providing equal opportunities for all. We welcome applications from everyone including of any age, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, neurodiversity, disability, or with parental or caring responsibilities. We also offer flexible working hours.

During the application process, all applicants have the opportunity to tell us about any adjustments or support they require so they are able to perform at their best. Any information you share with us during the application process is treated in confidence.

If you are interested in applying for this position, we welcome direct applications via our careers page, but if you have any questions beforehand, please email recruitment.matters@dentons.com. Enquiries only please – applications will not be accepted via email.

Please note that we will not accept unsolicited CVs sent to the business, nor will we accept any associated terms of business.

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