The Opportunity
We are currently seeking a Senior Associate to join our vibrant Environment, Planning & Communities team within our Projects, Energy, and Infrastructure practice in Brisbane.
In this role, you will work closely with Partner Kathryn Pacey, a leading practitioner in environment, planning, climate change, natural resources, government practice, and project development. Our national practice is highly regarded and consistently ranked by Chambers and Legal 500.
As a Senior Associate, you'll play a pivotal role in the team, offering comprehensive advice on major infrastructure projects, environmental compliance, regulatory issues, and planning and environment litigation. You will work with government and private sector clients across jurisdictions, focusing on the energy transition sector and the development of infrastructure projects, including transport, water, renewables, mining, gas, waste and resources management.
Your responsibilities will include:
Advising government and private sector clients on major infrastructure projects, including environmental assessment, compliance and delivery.
Managing environmental incident responses and advising on regulatory development.
Handling environment and planning litigation matters, providing expert guidance on complex legal disputes.
Supporting clients on environmental aspects of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions, offering strategic advice on risk management and compliance.
Your role will involve both front-end and contentious work. Additionally, you will have direct exposure and support to build your client management and business development skills. You will work within a highly collaborative and growing team, operating across practice groups with a national focus, fostering your career development.
You will benefit from exceptional learning opportunities, working on 'first in the market' projects and with clients who are at the forefront of ESG and energy transition.
To be successful in this role, you will have:
Demonstrable post-admission experience in environment and planning law.
A strong track record of advising on major infrastructure projects, environmental compliance, and regulatory issues.
Experience in litigation and dispute resolution, particularly in the context of planning and environment matters.
An excellent academic record, coupled with strong legal skills and a practical mindset.
A proactive approach and a desire to be an integral member of our leading and supportive team.
The capability to work effectively within tight timeframes, both collaboratively and autonomously.
A hunger to learn and develop and be part of maintaining a market-leading practice.
What you can expect from us:
We're a world-leading international law firm with a global team of over 5,000 professionals. As the market leader in Australia, we are committed to high performance, collaboration, diversity, and digital innovation. We are client-centred, commercially driven, and renowned for our solution-focused expertise. We will align your growth with our ambitions.
We make your personal and professional growth our business. And as part of the team, our ambition is yours too. Wherever you are in your career: grow and help the firm grow with you.
We will provide opportunities to learn on the job as well as a mix of learning opportunities tailored to you. Daily experiences, supportive challenges, team collaboration, mentors, and structured learning opportunities help you to expand your knowledge and reach your goals. We value your well-being, both at home and work, and we place a strong emphasis on mental health. If you need support, you'll have it, and we'll empower you to harness your personal strengths, navigate uncertainty, embrace opportunities, and effectively manage things within your control.
For more benefits on offer such as our 26 weeks paid parental leave, holistic well-being fund, or home office allowance please click/copy this link into your browser: https://marketing.hsf.com/20/29354/landing-pages/hsf-benefits.pdf
Join us to be part of a human, bold, and outstanding team at Australia's market-leading law firm.
We encourage applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to First Nations, LGBTIQA+ and neurodivergent individuals, as well as individuals of all ages, cultures, genders, and abilities. We're a safe, inclusive, and equitable workplace and celebrate the diversity of our people.
For more information or a confidential discussion, please reach out to Ashley Irving, Recruitment Manager at ashley.irving@hsf.com.
Team
Projects, Energy & Infra
Full time
Location
Brisbane
Contract type
Permanent Contract
Diversity & Inclusion
At Herbert Smith Freehills you will be part of a diverse, innovative culture where high performance, client focus and highly engaged people are our differentiator. People at our firm come from a range of backgrounds and bring a wide variety of experiences and perspectives to their work with us. We strive to ensure that our inclusive environment means you feel valued and able to perform at your best by being your authentic self at work. We know that our future success not only depends on being innovative and progressive in the changing legal market but, most importantly, on our people feeling highly engaged in meaningful work.
We understand that you have commitments and personal interests outside of work and we strive to create a working environment based on mutual trust and respect, in which you can perform at your best whilst maintaining sustainable balance across your life.
