Experience is key to a good deal of law work
Business nous is vital in delivering good legal advice, writes Shaz Khalid
Scotland’s energy projects are increasingly larger, more complex, more capital-intensive and more exposed to regulatory and commercial risk. Scotland has become a major hub for renewable energy projects from a domestic and international perspective, including developments such as Berwick Bank, with a significant proportion of the economy now reliant on the sector.
UK Government funding of £173 million for the Energy Transition Zone around Aberdeen and a record 8.4 GW of offshore wind through the Allocation Round 7 further underlines the scale of investment, infrastructure and long-term commitment shaping the energy transition.
In the current environment, clients want more than just technically correct legal advice. They need clarity, reassurance and direction, advisers who understand what it feels like to be responsible for deploying capital, meeting delivery milestones and explaining risk to boards and investors.
That is why in-house experience matters.
Businesses in the energy and renewables sector are navigating unprecedented levels of complexity and uncertainty, so it’s more important than ever that law firms provide clients with the tools they need to continue with confidence and ambition.
Those of us who have spent time on the other side of the table bring an additional perspective, shaped by first-hand experience of how legal advice is used within a business. Having spent a significant part of my career at SSE, most recently leading legal support for strategic international M&A, joint ventures and route-to-market structures, I’ve built more than 15 years’ experience across the energy sector, from oil and gas through to large-scale renewable developments. That invaluable time inside a major energy business shapes the way client advice is approached.
That ability to speak to both legal and commercial stakeholders is critical. When you have been part of a project team you quickly learn legal risk is only one piece of the puzzle. Timing, funding, legislation, political context, delivery risk and internal alignment all sit side-by-side. Advice has to be framed in a way that decision-makers can use in real time, not simply understand in theory. In-house lawyers live with the consequences of those decisions, which sharpens your focus on what really matters.
The same applies in transactions. Having been on the buying side of M&A, I know what it feels like to rely on advisers to identify what is genuinely material, rather than overwhelming teams with legal detail. That perspective shapes how we run deals for clients: prioritising clarity, judgment and momentum, so transactions move forward with confidence.
It also influences how disputes avoidance is handled. When you have sat inside a business, you understand how disruptive and distracting conflict can be for management teams trying to build, operate, maintain and finance assets. This is particularly pertinent for managing joint venture relationships where differing views on budget approval, capex deployment or internal requirements may be at play. That leads to a more pragmatic, proportionate approach – one that takes account of the priorities on all sides of a dispute and is focused on protecting long-term value and relationships, rather than simply winning legal arguments.
While law firms bring an unrivalled level of experience and sectoral knowledge, in-house experience provides an extended bridge of trust. It means deep understanding of the pressures facing energy and renewables businesses at the forefront of the net zero transition: tight budgets, intense scrutiny, ambitious targets and constant change. That shared understanding allows lawyers to provide not just legal advice, but the reassurance and direction clients need to keep moving forward in a fast-evolving market.
Shaz Khalid is a Partner, MFMac