Banking & Finance

HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS

Adam Tucker

As an international Banking and Finance practice, we assist lenders and borrowers from all over the globe to navigate and shape their contractual relationships. In this respect, Banking and Finance is one of the most unique and technically complex practice groups that law firms have to offer; the transactions can be multijurisdictional and in some cases bilingual. For this reason, Banking and Finance lawyers are known for travelling internationally and working in many different countries during their career. The Perth Banking and Finance team at Herbert Smith Freehills assists clients with a variety of financial arrangements, including project finance, property finance, structured finance, capital markets and general banking and corporate finance. We also provide advice to our clients on issues, which may arise during the course of these transactions or throughout the life of a loan. Our team specialises in project financing, where repayment of financing is dependent on the performance of the project being financed. We assist clients with projects across a number of sectors, with a particular focus on mining, energy and infrastructure. Our team has worked extensively on transactions in these sectors both domestically and internationally. For example, in the WA market, we assisted with the financing of the development of the Roy Hill mining project in the Pilbara region and the acquisition of the ‘Super Pit’ gold mine in Kalgoorlie, whilst internationally we have acted for clients across numerous African jurisdictions, including Botswana, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea, Ghana and Kenya. As a junior lawyer in the Banking and Finance team, you will have the opportunity to work on all stages of a financial transaction, including drafting and negotiating finance documents, preparing legal due diligence and meeting with clients and the lawyers from the other side. Typically, a transaction will require us to conduct a bankability review of the project to determine whether there are any significant risks or liabilities the parties should be aware of prior to investing or loaning funds. As part of this review, we have the opportunity to work with all of the different practice groups at Herbert Smith Freehills, include Environment, Native Title and Aboriginal Heritage, Corporate, Disputes and Projects. Accordingly, if you want a career that gives you the opportunity to travel internationally and exposes you to many different areas of the law, Banking and Finance is for you.