Legal Counsel (Corporate)

Low Carbon; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days holiday + birthday off

Discretionary bonus

Private healthcare

Pension plan

Cycle scheme

Season ticket loan

Pluxee discounts

Volunteer days

Job summary

Low Carbon, based in London, seeks a Corporate Legal Counsel to handle the full spectrum of corporate work, M&A, and governance across the UK, Germany and Poland. You will work closely with the investment team and senior lawyers, advising on day-to-day queries and overseeing company secretarial matters.

The role offers a hybrid working pattern in London, with 3–4 days in the office, and exposure to cutting-edge legal tech and AI initiatives to streamline drafting, due diligence, KYC and

Qualifications

• Qualified in England and Wales or in another common law jurisdiction with English law experience.
• Corporate or M&A experience from a law firm, whether in practice or through training contract seats.
• A genuine interest in corporate transactional work and the ambition to take on more responsibility on deals over time.
• A self-starter with a ‘can-do’ attitude when taking carriage of broader in-house matters, including governance, employment, disputes and general commercial queries in addition to your core transactional skillset.
• Strong commercial awareness and business sense – able to act as a trusted adviser to the business, not only on legal points.
• Highly organised, with close attention to detail and the ability to manage a high volume of matters.
• Initiative in improving processes and ways of working, and a genuine interest in using legal technology and AI to do so

Responsibilities

• Provide corporate legal advice across the full spectrum of Low Carbon’s activities, including corporate transactions, governance and general queries.
• Structure, review, negotiate and manage M&A, joint ventures, shareholder arrangements and debt raising for projects in the UK, Germany and Poland.
• Assist with running the Investment Committee Secretary processes and investment approvals.
• Advise internal teams (HR, finance, procurement, operations) on day-to-day legal queries and support on disputes.
• Drive improvements to ways of working through legal technology and AI, and coordinate with external counsel as needed.
• Collaborate with the investment team and deal leads to understand deal origination, structuring and execution steps.

Skills

England & Wales qualified

M&A experience

In-house corporate exposure

Education

Law degree or equivalent

England & Wales qualification

Job description

About Low Carbon

Low Carbon creates large-scale renewable energy to fight climate change. We’re building a renewable energy company that will protect the planet for future generations.

This defining purpose drives us to deliver for our communities, investors, and the environment.

We are a long-standing certified B-Corporation and recognised as gold standard for our environmental impact. We develop, build, and operate utility-scale solar, onshore wind, and battery storage projects across the UK and Europe, supporting the world’s move to an energy system powered by renewables.

CVC DIF, the infrastructure strategy of leading global private markets manager CVC, is the majority shareholder in Low Carbon. Working alongside MassMutual, CVC DIF will enable Low Carbon to significantly expand its installed capacity and drive the next stage of growth as a diversified, leading next-generation IPP.

Role Description

We are a small legal team embedded in the business, which means real responsibility and direct contact with the people making decisions. The team covers projects and corporate work, as well as general legal support across the group. This role is corporate-focused, reporting to the Senior Legal Counsel (Corporate), and is based in London with an expectation of being in the office 3-4 days per week.

You will work alongside the Senior Legal Counsel (Corporate) on all our corporate legal work, advising the business in a variety of areas including corporate transactions, company secretarial work and corporate governance. The transactional work will include buy-side and sell-side M&A, joint ventures, shareholder arrangements and debt raising for solar, wind and battery storage projects across the UK, Germany and Poland. You will also be responsible for advising the business on corporate operations and wider legal issues, including day-to-day legal queries from internal teams such as HR, finance, procurement and technology, and supporting on disputes.

You will work directly with all teams across the business, especially our investment team and deal leads, giving early exposure to how transactions are originated, structured, approved and executed.

Legal technology and AI are a real focus for us. We are actively building out how the team uses them across drafting, due diligence, KYC, governance and knowledge management, and this role has a real opportunity to play a central part in that. We are looking for someone who will look critically at how we work, spot what can be done better, and help build the processes and tools to do it.

Key Responsibilities

The Legal Counsel (Corporate) will be engaged in the provision of legal advice and support on the full spectrum of Low Carbon’s activities. This broad remit will include:

Transactions

• Structuring, review, negotiation, execution and ongoing management of/compliance with:
• M&A (buy-side and sell-side) and joint venture arrangements
• Corporate, financing (including debt raising) and shareholder arrangements
• Commercial contracts, including NDAs, exclusivity agreements, consultancy agreements etc.
• Supporting the Investment Committee Secretary in running the IC and investment approval processes, with direct exposure to how investment decisions are made
• Assisting with the running of legal due diligence and managing external legal advisors and associated fees
• Working with local counsel on German and Polish transactions

Corporate governance and general legal support

• Overseeing company secretarial matters across the group, supported by existing software and technology solutions, including:
• Overseeing statutory registers and filings
• Drafting board and shareholder minutes and resolutions
• Implementing corporate actions and reorganisations (e.g. dividends, share allotments, buy backs, amendment of Articles, board composition)
• Managing incorporations of UK and non-UK group companies
• Managing third-party company secretarial providers for group companies outside the UK
• Assisting with the co-ordination of KYC requests alongside the wider team, including document certification and notarisation
• Advising internal teams (including HR, finance, procurement and operations) on day-to-day legal queries across the group
• Supporting the wider team on disputes, internal governance processes and policies, and legal and regulatory developments affecting the business
• Helping to drive improvements to how the team works across all areas, including through legal technology and AI – identifying opportunities and building and implementing tools and processes

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Qualified in England and Wales, or in another common law jurisdiction with English law experience; circa 1–3 PQE (guidance – other PQE levels with the appropriate experience will be considered)
• Corporate or M&A experience from a law firm, whether in practice or through training contract seats
• A genuine interest in corporate transactional work and the ambition to take on more responsibility on deals over time
• A self-starter with a ‘can-do’ attitude when taking carriage of broader in-house matters, including governance, employment, disputes and general commercial queries in addition to your core transactional skillset
• Strong commercial awareness and business sense – able to act as a trusted adviser to the business, not only on legal points
• Highly organised, with close attention to detail and the ability to manage a high volume of matters
• Initiative in improving processes and ways of working, and a genuine interest in using legal technology and AI to do so

Advantageous, but not essential

• A demonstrable track record of implementing legal technology or AI tools in practice – this will be a significant advantage
• Renewable energy or infrastructure experience
• Some in-house experience (e.g. a secondment)
• Cross-border transactional experience
• Other European languages (German or Polish in particular)
• Company secretarial or corporate governance experience

Our Compensation & Benefits

• 26 days holiday plus your birthday off (with option to buy a further 5 days)
• Discretionary Bonus
• Bupa Health Check & Private Healthcare for you and your family (medical history disregarded)
• Contributory Pension
• Cycle scheme
• Season Ticket Loan
• Pluxee for commercial discounts and perks
• 3 additional days for volunteering to support causes of your choice

We are committed to building an inclusive team and welcome applications from people with different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences. If you do not meet every requirement listed but believe you can succeed in the role, we encourage you to apply. We are happy to discuss reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK, as we are not able to provide visa sponsorship for this position.