Corporate: TMT Associate 2.5 - 4 PQE

Continuing technological change is the hallmark of the entire TMT sector. This change generates a stream of business and regulatory challenges, requiring lawyers to be industry aware, adaptable and creative. The broad spread of experience and strength in depth of the TMT group means the team is exceptionally well placed to understand and advise on issues raised by new technologies and new business models.

The service areas cover:

Content and information
Deals and transactions
Networks and services
Outsourcing
Regulation and disputes
The team works closely with other parts of the firm to provide clients with a comprehensive and tailor-made service. In addition, the team offers an international network to support clients through a network of offices in Europe and Asia, an Alliance with leading German and Benelux law firms Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe and global affiliations.

The team further forges close client relationships which are consolidated through secondments to clients including Google, BSkyB, British American Tobacco, BAA and O2, to name a few.

Key to all of this is a focus on being 'trusted advisor' to clients which uniquely enables the team to generate business momentum and establish themselves as advisor of choice in this niche market.

Key deals

a global tobacco company on its £1.2 billion global logistics outsourcing project
Bharti on its US$10.7 billion acquisition of Zain Africa B.V.
BSkyB v EDS (now HP) on the landmark case concerning the design and installation of a new customer relationship system by EDS. Sky successfully sued for deceit and won £320 million in damages. This case was the most significant case in the technology and outsourcing sector in the last 10 years
BSkyB on their acquisition of Virgin Media Television and also on the possible £7.8 billion offer from News Corporation.
Cell C / Oger Telecom on a 2G / 3G mobile network procurement project involving Nokia Siemens Network and ZTE and potential dispute with NSN, an IT/BSS procurement project with Huawei and tower sale by Cell C to American Tower.
EDF on the IT separation and outsourcing aspects of its £5.5billion sale of its UK electricity distribution business.
Ernst & Young, on the administration of Nortel, equipment vendor on US$2.9 billion worth of disposals involving Avaya, Ciena, Ericsson, Hitachi and Kapsch this involved the disposal and the provision of on-going IT support and access to IT systems for a transitional period for an array of its businesses.
Etisalat on a number of proposed joint ventures, including its partnership programme with Viettel (a mobile operator in Vietnam), its proposed JVs with Emirates (SIM cards), Airmiles (loyalty programme) and 20:20 in Tanzania and the setting up an MVNO network and on a proposed acquisition of a telecoms operator in Asia.
FilmFlex on a variety of aspects of their business including movie output licence agreements with the major Hollywood studios and independent licensors for exhibition of movies on the FilmFlex on-demand services.
Google on its successful trade mark litigation brought to the ECJ. This was one of the most important legal battles in field of e-commerce has seen in a long time.
Telefonica O2 on its MVNO joint venture arrangements relating to Tesco Mobile, on its milestone pan-European deal with Vodafone to share their networks in various European jurisdictions; on its acquisition of its 60% stake in a mobile phone retailer in the UK and recently on the the proposed establishment and development of its new financial services business.
Time Warner on its US$220 billion merger with internet service provider AOL and on the US$1.95 billion sale of AOL’s access business in Europe and Warner Brothers (Warner Bros.), a subsidiary of Time Warner, on its £99.9 million bid for all of the issued and to-be-issued share capital of Shed Media
Transport for London on its £1.5 billion Oyster smart card outsourcing including central systems and hosting arrangements. We have also advised on various innovative ticketing projects, including the integration of Oyster with Barclaycard OnePulse and electronic ticketing

Accolades
Our work and advice given to Bharti on its US$10.7 billion acquisition of Zain Africa B.V. has won numerous awards including:

M&A Team of the Year - British Legal Awards 2010

Deal of the Year - India Business Law Journal

Middle East and Africa Deal of the Year – Telecoms Finance

Other recent quotes from the Legal Directories include:

Ranked number one for Client Service Chambers UK 2011

“The team offers incredible commercial knowledge and impeccable strategic advice”. Chambers 2011

“These lawyers are proactive, open-minded and invest time in understanding their clients' needs” Chambers 2011

The ‘first-rate’ team at Herbert Smith LLP is ‘incredibly talented’ and provides ‘unparalleled service’ Legal 500 2010

"The firm encapsulates the three Ps - it's proactive, positive and pragmatic" Chambers UK 2010

Key responsibilities


Expected to take an active role in leading and negotiating with limited supervision
Significant hands- on transactional experience
Responsible for drafting discrete pieces of legal advice for clients with minimal amendments
Encouraged to adopt a client-facing role
Qualifications required


2.5-4 years PQE
TMT experience required at a City or specialist firm
Excellent academics
Work based competencies

Technical

Legal ability - detailed grasp of complex legal concepts, excellent drafting skills, ability to see issues from a commercial perspective and able to communicate complex legal advice to clients effectively
Delivering excellent client service - excellent communications skills, driven to deliver to clients promptly, sets themselves challenging goals and resilient in achieving them
Client

Finding and winning - able to build relationships with clients, identifies opportunities and networks effectively internally
Practice/firm promotion - acts as an ambassador for the firm, writes technical articles for publication
Developing and retaining - works to become a trusted advisor to the client, aware of client industry dynamics, works closely with the Business Development Team
People

Leadership and management - acts as role model to others, provides coaching to those more junior than themselves
Initiative and managing change - resilient in the face of multiple priorities, able to deliver difficult messages, takes ownership for resolving problems pro-actively
Teamwork and communication - seeks out the views of others, assured and succinct in communication
Impact and personal development - proactively requests feedback from others, able to deal with constructive criticism and takes ownership for self-development
Firm

Financial performance - familiar with key drivers of firm performance
Risk management and professional ethics - takes responsibility for personal and professional ethics, understanding of reputational risk and the regulatory framework, prepared to seek advice where appropriate
Knowledge management - shares knowledge with others proactively, consults with senior technical experts where appropriate
Firm contribution - high level of personal integrity, contributes to developing a diverse and innovative culture, prepared to go the extra mile
Behavioural competencies

Ability to use initiative and be pro-active
Strong organisational skills and ability to prioritise
Excellent attention to detail
Enthusiastic, positive and committed team member
Ability to cope with conflicting demands and meet deadlines
Attention to detail with a high level of accuracy
Communicates effectively at all levels, both verbally and written
Promotes a collegiate environment, good team morale and a spirit of co-operation;
Team player