Associate - Public Policy & Regulation

A&O Shearman are recruiting an Associate to join the Public Policy & Regulation team in Riyadh, KSA.

DEPARTMENT PURPOSE

Clients need innovative, adaptable legal services from lawyers who are able to offer robust advice in a dynamic evolving economic and regulatory climate. Now, more than ever, legal advice needs to be structured and provided to take account of market and client requirements.
A&O Shearman has been in the region for over 40 years and during this time it has advised on the vast majority of transformational regulatory mandates and infrastructure development projects in KSA. We are currently advising across the KSA Giga Projects (including leading regulatory mandates), eg. AlUla, Red Sea Development Project, Qiddiyah Entertainment City, AMAALA and Diriyah Gate.

A&O Shearman's KSA office team is able to offer our clients exceptional market knowledge, built from a broad client base and from regularly working on market leading infrastructure and regulatory projects.

ROLE PURPOSE

Members of the team often deal directly with various KSA government stakeholders and strategic consultancy firms on major reform initiatives and on the restructuring of KSA government departments and the creation of new government-related entities (GREs). The work includes benchmarking against global best practices, the preparation of draft laws, implementing regulations and GRE formation documents. Furthermore, the team has a multidisciplinary approach through supporting other practice areas (including project finance, real estate, and oil and gas) on KSA law related issues.

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES

• The role involves working on a wide variety of KSA law related matters, e.g. regulatory reforms, project finance, corporate, banking, real estate, oil and gas, PPP and privatisation
• Drafting, reviewing and amending regulations, agreements and documentation in Arabic and English
• Strategically advising clients in meetings, on the phone and in writing
• Managing client expectations and project delivery appropriately
• Business development - development of personal plan, assistance with and implementation of business development campaign
• Legal research and analysis

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• KSA, Civil Law or Common Law qualified lawyer (dual qualification is a plus)
• Native level Arabic skills
• 1 - 5 PQE with strong technical knowledge of Arabic civil law systems (experience in KSA regulatory system preferred but not required)
• Solid drafting and regulatory skills - you will be working on creating and drafting new regulations and polices
• A consultant mindset - be resilient, open to experiencing new challenges and environments and be excited to develop your skill set and brand within the consultancy field
• Outstanding academic credentials
• Intellectual curiosity and versatility
• Self-starter with the desire and ability to continuously acquire, build upon and share knowledge
• Detail-focused and self-motivated approach
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines
• Excellent client relationship skills
• Sound experience of operating at associate level within a complex international organisation
• Strong commercial/business acumen with the ability to deliver creative and pragmatic solutions and advice
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interface at all levels and particularly to win the respect of the partner and fee-earner community, building strong relationships with both internal and external stakeholders
• Collaborative team player with the ability to develop and work in a fast paced, intellectually rigorous environment
• A person of sound judgment, able to establish a high level of credibility

Should you require additional support at any stage of the recruitment process due to a disability or a health condition, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our recruitment team who will work with you to provide any adjustments as required.

We are an equal opportunities recruiter and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

We recognise that our people are our most valuable asset, which is reflected in the wide range of benefits that are available to our employees. Some of these benefits include: our occupational pension scheme, group income protection cover, private medical insurance, mental health resources and free apps, health and wellbeing services encompassing an onsite gym, wellbeing centre and GP service, emergency back-up care support, parental and special leave, holiday entitlement increasing with length of service, holiday trading, season ticket loans and online discounts and lifestyle management services.

Our approach to hybrid working seeks to combine and maximise the benefits of effective remote working with the benefits of being in the office. Our current hybrid working arrangements require office based working for a minimum of 60% of your time ( i.e. three days per week for a full time role) in accordance with our hybrid working policy.