Associate, Project Development and Finance

White & Case LLP; London; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job description

Job Description - Associate, Project Development and Finance (240000OK)

Associate, Project Development and Finance

Are you ready to make your mark as part of the Project Development and Finance group in our London office?

About the role

As an Associate, you will be highly organised, deadline-focused and should be adept at managing multiple workstreams and matters, driving processes forward and delivering flawless work within short timeframes.

You will have an interest in complex and cutting-edge international project development and commercial contracts work. You should have experience drafting, reviewing and negotiating a broad range of commercial contracts (for instance, power purchase and other offtake agreements, concession agreements, project development, joint venture and acquisition agreements) across multiple sectors (including energy, infrastructure and natural resources) and jurisdictions (including emerging markets). You will understand, work with and summarise commercial aspects of contracts (including pricing and similar formulae based components of contracts).

Excellent communication skills will be a significant asset, as will fluency in other languages pertinent to our work. Proactive and self-motivated, you should balance an independence of thought and action, working collaboratively with colleagues. Ready for the challenges of a global law firm, you should be passionate about our practice and excited by the opportunity to work with—and learn from—colleagues across the Firm’s international practices and offices, and be adept at building professional relationships with colleagues, clients and other outside parties from across the world and different time zones.

Given the international dimension to our practice, geopolitical awareness is essential — enhancing your understanding of deals’ wider context and enabling you to interact with our international clients in a way that is culturally and politically sensitive.
Working on large-scale transactions at the forefront of the project development world which can take months or years to put together, you will need to be patient and focused, and—given the fluctuating pace of our work—flexible in terms of your hours.

Self-motivated and proactive, you should be undaunted by hard work and eager to demonstrate the dedication and commitment needed to deliver an outstanding work product.

About the practice

Our Project Development and Finance Group has a worldwide reputation for helping sponsors, developers and their lenders to achieve their most complex and ambitious project goals. The preeminent global law firm in this field, we offer our clients an unrivalled depth and breadth of knowledge and experience and advise on the full spectrum of project development and financing matters, in jurisdictions across the globe and across all the major industrial sectors.

From the moment you join us, you will have the opportunity to work with leading practitioners within our Group, as well as with colleagues from other practice areas including Disputes, Construction and M&A, and from other offices who contribute their practice area expertise to our project teams. You should be prepared to interact with a wide range of international clients, and the cross-border nature of our work often requires international travel.

Key Responsibilities

• Reviewing, drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements and documents.
• Summarising complex contractual and transactional issues for clients.
• Conducting brief or somewhat more complex research, or drafting of memoranda (search for judicature, commentaries to specific legal issues).
• Involvement in due diligence, analysis of agreements in data room and their subsequent description.
• Communication with clients (via telephone, E-mail).
• Recognising opportunities for business development, assistance with and implementation of group and firm-wide business development strategies.
• Proactive engagement with clients both on and off deal with a view towards building and maintaining strong client relationships.
• Legal and sector knowledge development and sharing (internally and externally).

Qualifications and skills

• 2-4PQE.
• Several years of experience with drafting, reviewing and negotiating a broad range of commercial contracts in the energy, infrastructure and natural resources sectors.
• Comfortable working with and summarising non-legal, commercial aspects of contracts (including pricing formulae).
• Strong academic record and intellectual curiosity; a creative thinker.
• Excellent understanding of key risks and issues involved in cross-border transactions.
• Outstanding communication and negotiation skills.
• Strong time management skills, ability to stay calm under pressure when juggling multiple projects.
• Strong professional presence, with commercial and business awareness and the ability to see the big picture.
• Client service focus.
• Team player.
• Strong judgment.
• Proactive, resourceful, takes initiative.
• International experience and/or additional language skills are advantageous.

What We Offer

At White & Case, you can make a real difference, work on cutting-edge deals that make the headlines and help shape the world we live in. We live by our values—to be pioneering, united and human—and we believe that you’ll experience them from your first day. We will give you the support and training that will help you achieve your potential as a global lawyer.

We believe that consistent high performance merits reward and support. Our compensation package reflects your calibre as a lawyer and our benefits are designed to support your changing needs and priorities across different life stages.

We offer high-quality, internationally oriented work on the most challenging matters and an opportunity to work as part of a truly global organisation.

About White & Case

We are a global law firm with longstanding offices in the markets that matter today. Our on-the-ground experience, our cross-border integration and our depth of local, US and English-qualified lawyers help our clients work with confidence in any one market or across many.

Location and Reporting

This role is based in our London office.

This role reports to the Project Development and Finance partners in London.

Our standard office hours are 09:30-18:00, with a current requirement for 3 days in the office per week.

Firm Benefits

We offer a flexible range of benefits, services and programmes designed to help support your lifestyle requirements. Some of the benefits currently available include:

• Private medical insurance
• Pension plan with matched employer contribution up to 7.5%
• Yearly wellbeing fund
• Income protection
• Holiday purchase
• Life insurance
• Critical Illness insurance
• Private GP services
• Travel insurance
• Dental coverage
• Cycle to work
• Holiday purchase (available during annual enrolment)

Equal Opportunity Statement

White & Case is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and is committed to creating a fair workplace. It is our Firm’s policy to recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other category protected by applicable law.

If you require assistance and/or adjustment to participate in our application and/or interview process, please email us. We will be happy to work with you.