Corporate M&A (Energy & Natural Resources) Associate

Practice Area: Corporate M&A / Energy & Natural Resources
PQE: 3-5 years

A leading international law firm is seeking a 3-5PQE Corporate M&A Associate to join its London Energy & Natural Resources practice.

The role is focused predominantly on oil & gas and infrastructure M&A, with the successful candidate expected to have strong corporate transactional experience alongside meaningful exposure to the energy and natural resources sectors.

This is not a broad renewables-focused Energy M&A position. The practice is particularly interested in lawyers with conventional oil & gas and infrastructure transactional experience, including acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and strategic investments.

The role is principally an M&A position rather than a Private Equity-focused role and offers significant exposure to complex domestic and cross-border transactions.

• Advise on public and private M&A transactions.
• Work on domestic and cross-border acquisitions and disposals.
• Advise on oil & gas asset and corporate transactions.
• Work on infrastructure-related corporate transactions.
• Advise on joint ventures and strategic alliances.
• Support corporate restructurings.
• Handle complex commercial arrangements connected with energy assets and businesses.
• Coordinate due diligence and substantive transaction workstreams.
• Draft and negotiate transaction documentation.
• Work closely with specialist teams across Finance, Tax, Competition, Regulation and Disputes.
• Advise energy companies, infrastructure investors and other institutional clients.
• Take meaningful responsibility for transaction management and direct client interaction.

• Approximately 3-5PQE.
• Strong Corporate M&A experience.
• Meaningful oil & gas and/or infrastructure transactional exposure.
• Experience of acquisitions, disposals and joint ventures.
• Strong understanding of share and asset transactions.
• Comfortable managing complex transactional workstreams.
• Strong drafting and negotiation skills.
• Commercial understanding of energy-sector clients and transactions.
• Excellent written communication and client-handling skills.
• Strong academic background, ideally including a minimum 2:1 degree.
• Experience gained within a respected City, international or sector-focused Corporate practice.

Candidates with predominantly renewables or power-focused experience and limited conventional energy exposure are likely to be less suitable. Similarly, generalist Private Equity lawyers without meaningful energy-sector experience or Project Finance lawyers without genuine Corporate M&A foundations are unlikely to match the requirement.

• Join an established international Corporate Energy practice.
• Develop genuine sector expertise in oil & gas and infrastructure M&A.
• Work on significant upstream and midstream transactions.
• Gain exposure to acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and strategic investments.
• Advise on complex cross-border matters across multiple energy markets.
• Work with major energy companies, infrastructure investors and institutional clients.
• Build a specialist transactional practice rather than remaining a broad Corporate generalist.
• Benefit from close integration with Finance, Tax, Competition, Regulation and Disputes teams.
• Take responsibility for significant transaction workstreams.
• Build direct client relationships.
• Gain exposure to both corporate share transactions and underlying asset deals.
• Work within a strong international platform with access to major global energy centres.
• Approximately 1,700 chargeable hours referenced as the wider London benchmark.
• Agile and flexible working arrangements available.
• Strong option for Corporate lawyers seeking complex international work without moving into a traditional US-firm hours model.