General Counsel Role in Zero Carbon Energy Projects
Background
Our client, a specialist geoscience and geospatial technology provider, created a general counsel role at a pivotal moment in its corporate evolution. With a history dating back to the 1980s, the company had established itself as a leader in helping clients locate and develop energy assets and natural resources. After a fundraising to accelerate its low carbon initiatives, the company began building a portfolio of zero carbon project investments, becoming an equity participant in sustainable energy assets.
The company’s transition from purely providing technology services to actively developing green hydrogen infrastructure projects created new legal complexities. Having completed its first two major energy hub projects, with a significant number of similar deals potentially in the pipeline, the business recognised the need for dedicated in-house legal expertise. Previously, legal matters had been outsourced to external law firms, with the CFO handling company secretarial responsibilities.
Challenge
The primary challenge was identifying a legal professional with the right blend of technical capabilities to support a diverse and evolving business. This general counsel role required someone who could handle multiple legal disciplines, from commercial contracts and technology licensing to project finance and potentially company secretarial duties.
The company needed a lawyer who could quickly grasp the technical aspects of geoscience, geospatial technology, and renewable energy projects. The appointee would be joining as the first in-house lawyer, necessitating someone comfortable working autonomously while maintaining effective relationships with external counsel. Furthermore, the appointee needed to be capable of supporting senior leadership through a period of strategic diversification into emerging sustainable energy markets.
Given the breadth of required skills, finding a candidate with experience across all relevant areas presented a significant challenge in this client’s location. The business recognised it might need to compromise on some specific experience areas, focusing instead on finding someone with strong commercial contracts expertise who could adapt to new areas of practice.
Solution
We commenced by conducting a detailed briefing with key stakeholders to fully understand the technical requirements and cultural aspects of the business. This enabled us to develop a comprehensive candidate profile that emphasised commercial acumen, adaptability, and the ability to support an evolving business strategy.
Rather than limiting our search to lawyers with specific renewable energy experience, we broadened our approach to consider candidates from various backgrounds with transferable skills. Our search strategy included those with commercial contracts experience, construction and engineering specialists, projects lawyers, and corporate/commercial solicitors with an appetite for broader responsibilities.
We identified that while technical legal capability was essential, the successful candidate would also need excellent communication skills to articulate complex legal concepts to non-legal stakeholders, and the confidence to engage effectively with board members. After a thorough selection process, the company appointed a commercial lawyer with broad contracts experience who demonstrated the intellectual capacity to adapt quickly to the technical aspects of the business. The successful candidate’s experience with commercial agreements made them an ideal fit for supporting the company’s ambitious growth in the renewable energy sector. The appointee has since taken on company secretarial responsibilities from the CFO, providing valuable governance support to the business.
