Associate/ Senior Associate - Finance in London

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer is a world-leading global law firm, where our ambition is to help you achieve your goals. Exceptional client service and the pursuit of excellence are at our core. We invest in and care about our client relationships, which is why so many are longstanding. We enjoy breaking new ground, as we have for over 170 years. As a fully integrated transatlantic and transpacific firm, we are where you need us to be. Our footprint is extensive and committed across the world’s largest markets, key financial centres and major growth hubs.

At our best tackling complexity and navigating change, we work alongside you on demanding litigation, exacting regulatory work and complex public and private market transactions. We are recognised as leading in these areas. We are immersed in the sectors and challenges that impact you. We are recognised as standing apart in energy, infrastructure and resources. And we’re focused on areas of growth that affect every business across the world. All of this is achieved by supporting the growth of our people, who help us deliver on our ambition – which is to help you achieve yours.

The Opportunity

• Key internal relationships: Supervising lawyer, group partners and senior lawyers, associates/solicitors, trainees/graduate solicitors, secretarial staff, paralegals.
• Key external relationships: Clients, other firms.

Practice group/team: The Energy Transition and Infrastructure Finance team in London consists of 8 partners and a group of associates focused on the financing of both brownfield (M&A) and greenfield (project) financings. The products involved include project finance, acquisition finance (including holdco/midco finance), oil and gas financing, and fund level finance for infrastructure funds (capital call and NAV facilities). The team works across financings in the entire energy and infrastructure sector including transport, energy transition (hydrogen, nuclear, renewables, batteries, EV charging etc), digital infrastructure, water and waste and healthcare. We work closely with our colleagues across the globe. We are a high performing team that is highly ranked in all of the directories (eg Tier 1 in Legal 500 for Project, Energy & Natural Resources (Infrastructure and Power).

We have acted on some of the most complex and ground-breaking infrastructure finance deals. Clients include infrastructure and energy funds, development finance institutions, banks and debt funds, multilateral agencies, project sponsors and governments. Key clients include: bp, GIC, Trident Energy, International Finance Corporation, Statera Energy, OX2, Serentica Renewables, NatWest, Santander and Lloyds.

Recent work includes advising:

• A syndicate of commercial lenders on the £5.5 billion financing for the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear project in Suffolk, UK.
• bp, Equinor and TotalEnergies on the closing of the project financings for the Northern Endurance Partnership Project and the Net Zero Teesside Project.
• Societe Generale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, and MUFG Bank, Ltd. on their JPY equivalent ~INR20,000,000,000 ECB project financing of the development, construction and operation of ReNew Power's 600MW (AC) solar power project in the State of Rajasthan, India.
• VTTI B.V., a Dutch energy storage and infrastructure company, on the acquisition of a majority interest in Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l, Italy's largest offshore infrastructure for unloading, storage and regasification of liquefied natural gas.
• Lenders on financing to support the construction and operation of Statera Energy's 300 MW battery energy storage system and 250 MW gas reciprocating engine.
• OX2 as borrower on the project financing of two onshore wind farms in Finland with a total capacity of 472 MW and investment of more than €700 million; the largest renewable energy investment in Finland to date.
• The lenders, comprising the European Investment Bank, commercial banks, insurance companies and infrastructure investment funds, on the €1.8 billion greenfield project financing of the first section of the new high-speed rail line between Porto and Lisbon.
• Lenders on the $3.5 billion financing for Neo Next, now one of the largest oil and gas producers in the UK.
• Statera Energy on its 680MW Carrington BESS project near Manchester, UK.
• Sandbrook Capital and VoltWise Power on financing the acquisition of a portfolio of BESS assets from KKR.
• GIC on the holdco financing for its acquisition of 30% of CETIN, a leading telecommunications infrastructure provider operating across CEE.
• A syndicate of lenders, including UK Infrastructure Bank, on the development and financing of the proposed Neuconnect 1.4GW HVDC submarine interconnector cable, the first direct power link between Germany and Great Britain.

Primary objectives:

• Contribute to excellent client service and perform fee-earning work under supervision.
• Make an effective contribution to the firm’s work by aiming to meet and exceed target hours.
• Build on legal and commercial knowledge in chosen practice area.
• Begin cultivating relationships with current client contacts where possible and in some instances, be a direct point of contact.

Key responsibilities:

• Leading and negotiating transactions, assisting and supervising more junior associates and trainees.
• Building relationships with clients, identifying and acting on opportunities.
• Plan, prioritise and delegate work tasks as appropriate and update supervising partner/senior associate on progress.
• Build client relationships - provide excellent client service and prompt responses and progress updates to the client.
• Support the firm and others - build effective relationships with individuals and groups in and across offices; uphold the firm’s values; and assist with the preparation of legal precedents, legal articles, marketing documents and presentations.
• Comply with risk requirements, firm policies and all relevant professional responsibilities and legislation.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• Qualified/admitted legal practitioner in relevant jurisdiction.
• Experienced project finance lawyer or brownfield energy/infrastructure acquisition financing lawyer with some project finance experience.
• Between 4 and 7 PQE on a UK scale. We would consider candidates a year or so less, or more, qualified.
• Currently/trained at a magic circle, US, silver circle or top tier project finance firm in common law jurisdictions.
• Strong foundation legal skills, including drafting, writing, negotiation and project management.
• Technically strong, self-starter (ie able to run principal finance workstreams on large deals and smaller deals independently) who enjoys BD as well as transactional work.
• Must be highly familiar with facility and commitment documentation, having drafted documentation from start to finish on LMA standard terms.
• Familiar with law firm profitability and key drivers for financial efficiency.
• Basic understanding of the client sectors relevant to the chosen area of law.

Competencies:

• Embraces challenge and finds opportunities to develop and sustain themselves.
• Deepens legal knowledge and insight, applying it with judgement and clarity.
• Volunteers, assists others and contributes to positive team spirit.
• Contributes to the smooth and effective running of matters.
• Helps to create a positive working relationship with clients.
• Builds and innovates for the firm’s future.

Team: Finance & Restructuring

Working Pattern: Full time

Location: London

Contract type: Permanent Contract

Diversity & Inclusion: We are committed to attracting people from all backgrounds and creating a respectful and inclusive culture where everyone thrives. We see this as essential to our success, including our ability to innovate and achieve sustained high performance. This is a key part of our Values—Human, Bold, and Outstanding.