JOB DESCRIPTION
About Herbert Smith Freehills
As one of the world’s leading law firms, we advise many of the largest and most ambitious organisations across all major regions of the globe. With over 5,000 people, including 3,100 lawyers and over 2,000 business services professionals, operating from our global network of offices across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and North America, Herbert Smith Freehills is at the heart of the new global business landscape providing premium quality, full-service legal advice.
We recognise that the success of our business and our clients relies on the skills, knowledge and ideas of all our people. Our environment is one in which high performance is expected, in return, we will provide you with rewards and opportunities tailored to your personal and professional goals.
The Opportunity
Key internal relationships :
- Supervising lawyer, other group partners, associates, trainees, paralegals, business development managers, secretarial staff
Key external relationships :
Clients, peers, contacts, other firms and professions (eg financial advisers, intermediaries, experts and local lawyers)Practice group / team :
Practice area – COMPETITION, REGULATION AND TRADE
Main areas covered | general competition (antitrust) | cartels and other behavioural investigations | merger control | abuse of dominance advice and investigation competition litigation | regulatory matters including technology sector regulation (e.g. Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act) | state aid | public procurement | EU | WTO and international tradeSector expertise includes | energy and natural resources | financial institutions | consumer goods| infrastructure | transport| manufacturing and industrials | pharmaceuticals | retail | telecoms, media and technologyThe Role :
Our Competition, Regulation and Trade group is consistently rated as one of the leading practices in its field, with a team of lawyers based in Europe (Brussels, London, Düsseldorf, Madrid & Paris), Asia, Johannesburg, and across Australia. Amongst our clients are leading financial institutions, top Fortune and FTSE companies from all industry sectors, regulatory bodies and national governments.
Our team covers the full spectrum of contentious and non-contentious competition, regulation and trade work globally, including :
cartel and other behavioural investigationsmerger controlforeign direct investment (FDI)foreign subsidies regulation (FSR) and state aidabuse of dominance and other antitrust advicecompetition litigation (private enforcement and appeals before the EU courts and national courts)regulatory matters (including technology sector regulation)state aid, public procurement, WTO and tradeThis role is focussed on non-contentious matters but the successful applicant will also have an opportunity to work on contentious matters, in particular appeals, private enforcement and other competition disputes.Recent Matters : Competition :
Advising OneWeb and Bharti Group on OneWeb's combination with Eutelsat including a number of merger and FDI processes.Acting for Google in relation to two applications for CPOs in the CAT on behalf of an online publisher class alleging that Google has abused a dominant position in AdTech tools.An OEM car manufacturer in relation to the European Commission's ongoing automotive end-of-life vehicles (ELV) cartel investigation.The Coca-Cola Company in connection with an investigation by the European Commission into rebates (the EC closed the case without further action).Uber on the merger control aspects in connection with (i) the sale of its non-ridesharing businesses in the Middle-East to E&; (ii) its US$ 3.1 billion acquisition of Careem; and (iii) the combination of its ridesharing in Russia and neighbouring Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) with Yandex.Taxi.Google in connection with its appeal to the CJEU in the Google Search (Shopping) investigation.Comcast and its subsidiary Sky on the EU and international merger control aspects of its joint venture with ViacomCBS.Altra Industrial Motion on its US$5 billion acquisition by Regal Rexnord Corporation with filings in the EU, China and the US.VTTI in a major transaction in the energy sector concerning the acquisition of Adriatic LNG, Italy's largest LNG terminal.Providing dedicated EU and international competition law advice to a number of Japanese trading hours and corporatesAssisting several multinational companies in relation to European Commission State aid investigations into tax planning practices.Regulation :
Assisting several clients in connection with the EU's new Foreign Subsidies Regulation, including in relation to notifications, investigations and complaints. We have been involved in a number of ‘firsts’ or early cases in each of these areas.Assisting several clients (including a confidential gatekeeper) in relation to the new suite of EU tech regulation, including the Digital Markets Act, the Digital Services Act and the emerging AI regulatory framework.British American Tobacco in ongoing proceedings before the EU Courts and the Irish Courts challenging an EU regulatory measure in relation to heated tobacco products and in related litigation before the EU Courts regarding document production by the European Commission.Aquind Limited on a number of interlinked court cases relating to the regulation of electricity interconnectors between the UK and France, including representation in litigation.Trade :
Successfully represented the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) in a bilateral dispute with the EU under the EU-Southern African Development Community Economic Partnership Agreement – one of the first trade arbitrations under an EU FTA.British Sugar on its challenge in the English Courts of the UK’s autonomous tariff rate quota for raw cane sugar, on the basis that it amounts to a subsidy to its competitor, Tate & Lyle, the first English Court proceedings in relation to the UK’s new subsidy control framework.AerCap on international sanctions issues arising in connection with claims under its aviation insurance policies relating to the loss of aircraft and engines in Ukraine and Russia – understood to be the largest single-loss insurance claim in the last two decadesPrimary objectives :
Deliver excellent client service and manage and deliver discrete pieces of legal work.Make an effective contribution to the firm’s work by aiming to meet and exceed target hours.Build a solid foundation of commercial and legal expertise within a chosen area of law and strengthen relationships with clients, frequently acting as a direct point of contact.Be responsible for some management and delegation of work to and support of junior colleagues.Key responsibilities :
Manage work to support optimal utilisation; assist senior lawyers as required, acting as lead lawyer, where appropriate; delegate and provide feedback to juniors and communicate progress on tasks to supervisor and team members, consulting and offering solutions on difficult technical client issues; and manage the billing process as appropriate.Manage, develop and strengthen client relationships through anticipating client needs and expectations; and provide prompt responses and updates on progress.Support the firm and others - establish effective relationships with individuals and groups, across the global network; uphold the firm’s values; contribute to the firm’s initiatives (eg corporate social responsibility and diversity and inclusion activities); mentor and support juniors; raise profile by being involved with external bodies and supporting and attending marketing / industry events; and assist with internal training and preparation of legal precedents.Comply with risk requirements, firm policies and all relevant professional responsibilities and legislation and contribute to billing, engagement and client acceptance processes.Qualifications, skills and experience :
Qualified / admitted legal practitioner ideally in an EU jurisdiction, registered with the Brussels bar and with full rights to practice as a qualified lawyer in Belgium.We would expect the successful candidate to have had between 3-4 years of post-qualification experience in this area.Strong legal skills, including drafting, negotiation and project management skills; foundation level people management and business development skills.Good understanding of law firm profitability and key drivers for financial efficiency; and ability to help manage costs and budgets.Team
Competition, Regulation & Trade
Working Pattern
Full time
Location
Brussels
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.
