Transport and infrastructure
Contributors
Transport and infrastructure has long been viewed as one of the less glamorous legal practice areas, best suited to lawyers with the patience for ploughing through the minutiae of statutes. But with ever-increasing public and political scrutiny and a rush of private investors looking to park their money in safe assets, it has become one of the most high-profile – and demanding – areas of legal work.
According to Patrick Mitchell, global head of infrastructure at Herbert Smith Freehills, it is now competing with finance as a home for ambitious young lawyers. ‘Big, sophisticated investors are getting into the game now and that’s turning a lot of heads. Pension funds are waking up to their financial power and are looking at infrastructure returns as a way of matching their liabilities; sovereign wealth funds are looking for stable returns in a period of uncertainty; and, in the UK at least, politicians are becoming even more acutely aware of the relationship between infrastructure, productivity and national competitiveness. We’re seeing a huge demand for legal work in the sector and the types of deals we’re working on are politically very significant.’
