Commercial Transportation Associate

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We will offer you a place where you can be yourself and where there are no limits on what you can achieve. With us, you can take ownership of your career and have honest conversations throughout. You would join an ambitious firm with a clear strategy for profitable growth where you can get early responsibility and early involvement in growing the business. Here you can expect a competitive and fair reward as well as recognition based on all round performance. This forms part of our internal promise to you, The Deal, between the firm and its employees.

This role primarily involves working with commercial contracts, together with advising on regulation specifically within the rail and bus sectors. As a result, the role will be within the award winning and top ranked rail and bus team at Stephenson Harwood, predominantly reporting to partners Tammy Samuel, Darren Fodey and Richard Hughes and Of Counsel Caroline Hooton.

The past few years have been highly successful for the Stephenson Harwood rail and bus team, which has seen the client base significantly grow and the team expanding accordingly. Key areas of expertise include:

• rail franchising and concessions (advising private and public sector operators and owning groups, and Transport for London) – recent experience includes advising Transport for London on the re-procurement of both the Elizabeth Line and London Overground concessions, Arriva on a number of its National Rail Contracts and concessions (including Cross Country and Chiltern and nationalisation); Transport UK on its National Rail Contracts and work related to renationalisation); Trenitalia UK on its entry into the UK franchising market (when it took over the c2c franchise from National Express and its subsequent National Rail Contract, delivery of day-to-day operations (including procurement activity), as well as nationalisation) and Northern Trains Limited ("NTL") which is now a public sector operator on a variety of issues

• bus franchising and concessions (advising private sector operators and owning groups) – recent experience includes advising 3 separate bidders in relation to the franchising of Manchester buses; we are also instructed in relation to similar procurement processes in Liverpool and Leeds for a variety of bidders;

• rolling stock (advising manufacturers on bids for new rolling stock contracts and associated maintenance arrangements; also advising operators and financiers on their rolling stock arrangements) – recent experience includes advising CAF on its successful bids to provide new rolling stock and maintenance services to LNER, the Wales and Borders franchise and Docklands Light Railway and on other bids for new rolling stock within the UK (including currently advising on bids for new trains in Northern, Transpennine Express, Croydon and South East Trains). We are also advising operators such as Transport UK, Trenitalia c2c and financiers on a variety of rolling stock related matters, including in preparation for nationalisation. From the financing perspective, we advise Corelink in relation to its investment in West Midlands train fleets, and Equitix in bidding to finance new trains;

• regulation (advising on the regulation of the rail and bus sectors, including track and station access, new regulatory arrangements and the Bus Services Act) – experience includes advising TfL on the creation of a regulatory regime for the Crossrail central section, arrangements for the proposed regulation of the Heathrow rail infrastructure and a disputed application for access to network and station as well as a variety of open access related issues as a result of renationalisation of the railways;

• infrastructure (advising on the structuring, real estate, construction and regulatory aspects of infrastructure development) – experience includes advising CAF on its UK assembly facility, Transport UK on the financing and procurement of depots to support its new trains programme on the East Anglia franchise and Trenitalia c2c on its upgrade of depot facilities to support its new trains programme. From the buses side, we have also advised on the implementation of batteries on buses and associated electrification of depots and charging infrastructure;

• rolling stock and depot financing (advising financiers on the financing of new rolling stock and depots) – recent experience includes advising Corelink Rail on the financing of the West Midlands Fleet, Lombard North Central on financing of the Vivarail trains for the Isle of Wight and advising others on innovative financing arrangements for new rolling stock

We are currently expanding our business internationally and are focussed on developing work in Europe (in particular France) and in the Middle East. There may therefore be opportunities to work in other countries.

The rail and bus team is part of the Real Estate and Projects department at Stephenson Harwood. Whilst this role has a focus on rail and bus work, there will also be the opportunity and expectation in quieter times for a candidate to work in the projects and infrastructure practice from time to time.

• Analysing the risks arising from proposed contractual arrangements and advising on the best ways of addressing those risks
• Understanding the client's preferred outcomes and developing potential solutions within relevant frameworks
• Clear, concise and unambiguous drafting of documentation
• Conducting legal research using internal and external knowledge management resources
• Preparing commercially-tailored notes of advice and analysis
• Considering and analysing existing contractual arrangements and risks
• Analysing statutory provisions and any regulatory guidance and applying it to the client's situation
• Assisting in the preparation of legal articles
• Liaising with clients
• Communicating clearly with colleagues and clients on each of the responsibilities described above
• Developing own informal internal and external network of contacts
• Building excellent working relationships with clients and peers within the firm Attending business development and profile raising events (client events, Future Talent activities)
• We regularly offer secondments to our clients on either a full or part time basis and we see this as an essential part of the role. Willingness to work with our clients in this way is important to us and we see as a benefit to our associates in developing their client skills. 

• Qualified lawyer with relevant experience in commercial contracts is essential, with past exposure to rail (either from a projects or rail finance team) desirable (full training will be offered)
• A keen interest in the rail and/or bus industry is essential; an interest in projects and infrastructure more generally would also be a plus
• Experience of dealing with franchises and concessions (in rail and/or bus) would be ideal as would experience in procurement and working within public procurement frameworks (Public Contracts Regulations/Utilities Contracts Regulations/Procurement Act) more generally
• Background in a firm with an excellent reputation in commercial contracts (which may include rail/bus projects or rail finance)
• A willingness to turn your hand to a variety of different transactions, including working in overseas jurisdictions
• Ability to manage own workload and lead a transaction with partner support, including delegating to more junior lawyers
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Excellent verbal and numerical communication skills
• Ability to acquire, consolidate and apply fundamental and up-to-date knowledge of the law and regulatory practices
• Cooperative and collaborative in approach and able to develop excellent working relationships at all levels and roles
• Organised and able to work to strict deadlines with the ability to prioritise realistically
• Manages and records time promptly and accurately
• Resilient with the ability to handle set backs, pressure and competing demands
• Ability to operate professionally and proactively at all times
• Exhibits an understanding of the Firm’s position in the market and how it distinguishes its services from its competitors
• Excellent academic and professional qualifications

This job description is indicative only and does not represent an exhaustive list of responsibilities. The firm reserves the right to alter or change the responsibilities at any time, in line with the firm's strategy and business needs.

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