A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with 48 offices in 28 countries worldwide.
Our fluency in English law, US law, and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.
We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world’s leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.
Whether you’re helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to an inclusive environment, and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimize your wellbeing.
What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.

LEGAL AND MARKET KNOWLEDGE:

Work with US ENRI partners and the Global Head – ENRI Knowledge to identify priorities for the US ENRI knowledge function, including identifying and sharing market and legal developments affecting the ENRI practice; preparing engaging and clear summaries/guidance/precedent updates and client-facing material, using legal and commercial skills developed through experience in projects/infrastructure finance (from the finance, commercial or knowledge side); being a trusted adviser to colleagues of all levels.

Key areas of responsibility

• Under general guidance about priorities and with a particular focus on NY law:
• Knowledge strategy and implementation: Develop and drive US ENRI knowledge strategy and implementation in alignment with the Global ENRI and firm knowledge strategies.
• Sharing legal and market awareness: Monitor, identify and research key legal and market developments in relevant practice areas in the US (and where relevant beyond) and how these may impact our practice and current/future clients, with a view to sharing alerts and clear, authoritative analyses with colleagues and clients, as appropriate
• Knowledge development: Prepare, maintain and update high quality documentation to provide colleagues with accessible materials (fully up to date with precedent and practice, as applicable) which help progress transactional and client development business in a cost effective and timely way
• Training: Lead the design and delivery of training programs and related initiatives to inform colleagues and clients (as applicable) about legal tech developments, market developments, current law and legal developments
• Knowledge management: Develop and evaluate material for suitability to be included in the firm’s Knowledge systems and legaltech platforms and understand how to operate and contribute to these systems/platforms and to promote them to colleagues as part of the firm’s strategic aims
• Query resolution: Respond accurately, usefully and in a timely way to specific requests and queries from colleagues on legal and commercial matters (and signpost other relevant experts if matters are outside relevant areas of expertise)
• Thought leadership: Gather, synthesize and produce good quality, up to date and readable material for inclusion in the firm’s opinion pieces
• Collaboration: Assist/participate in important practice, cross-practice and cross-office groups and projects designed to ensure ENRI’s and AOS’s knowledge base and documentation is maintained in line with market developments, new legislation, significant case law etc. (including testing and implementing legal tech, AI and related tools, as appropriate)
• Profile development: Maintain and develop own knowledge of law, practice areas, clients and current issues to grow expertise, reputation and value to AOS, and look for opportunities to participate in related external forums/bodies
• Knowledge promotion: Be a valuable member of the AOS ENRI Knowledge Team and global knowledge community and ensure ENRI/knowledge is represented on and able to contribute to external and internal US and global projects
• Championing legaltech and innovation: Support and drive the adoption of legaltech tools in US ENRI alongside legaltech colleagues and look to identify innovative solutions to drive efficiencies
• Work allocation: Support work allocation processes by liaising with work allocation colleagues and being a sounding board for fee earners

Key requirements

• Qualified lawyer – minimum 8 years practicing experience upwards or similar (NY law preferred)
• Previous successful experience working as a fee earner or Knowledge Lawyer or equivalent in an energy, natural resources and infrastructure environment in a law firm, lender and/or in-house
• Excellent technical competence in energy and infrastructure-related law and practice as expected at applicable level of qualification (finance and/or commercial)
• Enthusiasm for and understanding of the energy, natural resources and infrastructure practice as a whole and its exciting current and anticipated growth
• Self-starter with the desire and ability to continuously acquire, build upon and share knowledge and enjoy the operational and strategic sides of this role
• Willingness to work beyond own comfort zone across energy, natural resources and infrastructure-related practice and business areas and maintain a global mind-set even when working primarily in or with our US team
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Sound judgement and ability to deliver clear solutions-oriented legal and practical advice about complex issues when responding to queries or drafting guidance or client publications
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize to meet deadlines as and when required, understanding the need to adapt around others’ workloads and to work effectively in a hybrid working environment
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to interface at all levels with all areas of the business, and with the credibility to engage with partners and to win respect as a trusted adviser, developing strong (internal and external) client relationships and credibility over time
• Collaborative and enthusiastic team player with the flexibility and resilience to develop and work in a fast paced and intellectually rigorous environment and seek and act on feedback, and with the skills to manage junior colleagues (as applicable) effectively
• Sound level of computer literacy (including Word and Excel) and of legaltech use (and/or enthusiasm to learn)
• Able to travel occasionally to other AOS offices

DEPARTMENT PURPOSE

A&O Shearman is the world’s leading Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure practice. With over 60 partners and 230 lawyers worldwide, plus a wider group of affiliated fee earners, we have, since 2000, consistently closed more transactions in this space globally than any other law firm and are an acknowledged market leader in the infrastructure M&A space.
We advise the most sophisticated sponsors, debt providers, borrowers, project and construction companies as well as governments, IFIs and ECAs across a wide array of sub-sectors, including all aspects of power generation and transmission, networks, social infrastructure, transport, telecommunications and energy transition. We provide global coverage in the US, UK, Latin America, Continental Europe, META and APAC, advising on matters in more than 170 jurisdictions around the world.
We provide our clients with a totally integrated service on all aspects of their infrastructure projects, drawing on and marshalling A&O Shearman’s specialist skills in relation to, among other things, project development, deal-structuring, bankability, equity strategy, M&A debt financing and refinancing (including bank, private placement capital markets, ECA and multilateral), hedging, contracts, construction and regulatory compliance. We advise across the whole project lifecycle, with specialisms grouped into project development, greenfield project financing and infrastructure acquisition financing.
Our priority growth areas in greenfield project development encompass projects related to energy transition (particularly hydrogen, e-fuels and EV value chain, including extraction and processing of critical minerals), large scale renewables (primarily offshore wind), nuclear, rail and transport. We also cover established sectors such as mining, thermal power, oil & gas and petrochemicals, as well as water, wastewater and other social infrastructure projects.
The nature of our practice is such that, alongside mainstream finance and corporate elements, it also involves a range of specialist market, legislative and regulatory aspects relevant to the sectors we operate in, including ESG, foreign investment restrictions and antitrust, sanctions, subsidy controls, state aid, tax, procurement and dispute resolution/investment protection. As a result, our practice is connected to virtually every other practice, Priority Sector and working group within the firm.

ROLE PURPOSE

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced ENRI practitioner to join the ENRI knowledge team in the US as a senior knowledge lawyer, on a full time, permanent basis. The role will consist primarily of leading a US ENRI knowledge function to support US ENRI lawyers and other teams working on ENRI-related matters with a US law nexus and being a member of and contributing to the global ENRI knowledge team and the firm’s global knowledge and wider community.
The ENRI knowledge function is key to maintaining and developing our market-leading position and the US is a key market for us. As the practice continues to expand by scope, size and geography and the focus on energy transition and security increases, we want to further build our knowledge team accordingly.
The senior knowledge lawyer will support ENRI lawyers and other colleagues by leading and developing a first in class knowledge function, tracking and analyzing ENRI-relevant legal, technical and market practice developments across the specialisms and areas mentioned above in the US (and as appropriate globally) and assessing the impact on our clients and our practice. This will include developing and maintaining training, documentation and other materials to support colleagues in their transactional work and existing and potential client relationships, and to ensure relevant knowledge is shared across our network.

Key relationships

• US ENRI Partners and other US ENRI fee-earners
• Global Head – ENRI Knowledge, and the ENRI Knowledge Team
• US and Global AOS Knowledge and Learning community
• US ENRI Business Development and wider BD and related business communities