Energy, transport & infrastructure law

This commercial practice area offers a mix of regulatory work (in industries such as oil and gas, electricity, rail and water) and large-scale project and project finance work (eg roads, airports, power stations and railways). Lawyers act for governments, engineering companies, banks and other clients interested in bidding for, acquiring and/or operating in these areas.

Graduate careers in energy, transport and infrastructure law

Typically, you will work on one or two big projects at a time alongside some smaller scale advisory work. A project can last anything from 18 months (eg a rail franchise or similar public procurement, working in a team of three or four lawyers) to several years (eg a major road development, with over 40 solicitors). You can expect to spend a fair amount of time in meetings at your client’s site and there are plenty of opportunities to travel overseas as many projects have an international flavour.

Lawyers in this field tend to be very busy at certain intense times in the course of a project but, as projects typically run over years rather than months, these busy periods are relatively easy to predict and plan around. For example, you might find yourself working long days if acting for a bidder on a public private partnership (PPP) when the bids are due in, followed by a relative lull while the bids are being considered by the government. You get to know your clients well and socialising with them is part of the job.

This practice area allows you to get to grips with an industry and gives you the satisfaction of being able to see or touch the project you’ve been working on. On the downside, projects can take a long time to come to fruition, which, as a trainee, means you may not get to see the big picture during a typical six-month seat.

Is energy, transport and infrastructure law recession-proof?

As many of these projects are driven by the government, this area continues to enjoy a steady stream of work. The UK government is committed to energy and transport development in the coming years, with more power stations planned and an upgrading of transport links. Anticipated development of infrastructure in Africa and the Middle East is also likely to mean work for UK firms. That said, the slowdown in financing by banks has meant that large-scale projects have felt the pinch in this recession.

What skills do energy, transport and infrastructure law solicitors need on the job?

• Good organisational skills: the projects are on a large scale and therefore document heavy.
• The ability to understand complex regulatory issues.
• A general interest in the field you’re working in, eg railways or oil and gas; you’ll be valued as much for your general commercial advice as your technical legal knowledge.
• Teamworking skills.

As a trainee solicitor in energy, transport and infrastructure law

Trainees enjoy a fair amount of client contact and can expect to be taken along to meetings at clients’ sites. You will research and interpret legislation, help with drafting, manage documents and chase clients for information. You may be working across a number of transactions at any one time.

Types of law practised

• Contract.
• Commercial.
• Public.
• Regulation.
• EU.

About the author

TAMMY SAMUEL is a partner in the energy, infrastructure and project finance department at DENTON WILDE SAPTE. She graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in law.