Assistant General Counsel, Regulatory Law

RWE Offshore Wind Services, LLC
To start as soon as possible, full time, permanent

 

We are looking for an experienced, motivated, and confident Legal Counsel/Assistant General Counsel to support RWE’s fast-growing U.S. Offshore Wind business.  As a Legal Counsel/Assistant General Counsel within the global Regulatory Law team, you will be the second U.S.-based lawyer with a Regulatory Law focus. You will work alongside a small team of ~5-7 other lawyers/paralegals supporting regulatory, corporate, transactional, and procurement matters and closely cooperate with other departments to deliver holistic and streamlined legal support to the U.S. RWE Offshore Wind business.

 

About the Role:

• Providing legal support associated with RWE’s participation in federally administered offshore wind lease auctions and state administered offtake solicitations, including drafting and reviewing solicitation bid materials and responses to requests for information following bid submission.
• Advising on the legal implications and feasibility of different offtake structures (e.g., PPA, OREC) and coordinating with the Government Relations teams on communications to state agencies and policymakers on the advantages and disadvantages of different structures and different offtake solicitation requirements.
• Assisting with preparation and review of formal filings and other public comments in transmission planning efforts, such as those led by state public utility commissions or RTOs/ISOs.
• Participating in the formation of permitting strategies and advising the development team on federal and state permitting processes, such as those under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, Marine Mammals Protection Act, New York Article VII, and California Environmental Quality Act.
• Serving as a first point of contact of assigned projects within the legal team, working closely with the Development, Finance, Partnering, External Relations, Credit Risk, Tax, and Permitting teams (among others), for legal advice and coordinating specialized in-house and external legal advice in a cost and work efficient manner.
• Overseeing all legal matters relating to assigned projects (including legal matters covered by other specialized lawyers) and advising senior management about all related legal risks, including claims and disputes.  Providing legal support (including liaising with external counsel) in relation to any administrative appeals.  This role will require close alignment and cooperation with other members of RWE’s Offshore Wind Legal team, including both colleagues supporting the US market and also the larger global portfolio, based in locations across Europe and the APAC region, as well as close alignment with the wider Offshore Wind business, including key stakeholders from other internal departments such as Transmission, Development, Permitting Finance, Government Relations, Tax/Accounting, Insurance, Credit Risk, Communications, and External Affairs.
• Driving standardization and process improvement initiatives within the US Offshore Wind team and also the larger global Legal team.
• Developing non-standard, customized solutions when needed to address complex project challenges.

 

Job Requirements:

• Qualified as a lawyer in the US; preferred jurisdictions include New York, Massachusetts, and California, but other states are also potentially acceptable.
• At least 5 years of work experience as a lawyer in a well-recognized law firm or in-house counsel for company working within either in the energy sector or with a focus of working on complex international infrastructure projects.
• Significant expertise working on complex regulatory matters, such as before FERC, state public utility commissions, BOEM, NOAA, EPA, or state environmental permitting agencies, particularly with respect to large, complex infrastructure projects.
• A comprehensive, experience-bas