Knowledge Lawyer

A&O Shearman

Prepare updates, answer enquiries, and create sophisticated guidance using legal skills developed through experience in the finance area.

• Develop, maintain and continuously improve high-quality local standard form precedents (SFPs), including but not limited to legal opinions, security documents and ancillary finance documentation, to provide partners and associates with cost effective, timely and market-standard documents that help progress client business.
• Monitor market practice and legislative and regulatory developments relevant to the UAE and broader Middle East finance markets, assess impact, communicate key points to the teams, and ensure timely updates to SFPs, guidance and practice notes.
• Play a lead role in centralising and curating know-how and precedents. Work collaboratively with associates and the advance delivery team to maintain an up-to-date, searchable precedent and know-how bank, including evaluating material for inclusion in the firm s systems.
• Collaborating with Knowledge Lawyers in the London office and staying abreast of legal tech and similar initiatives in the knowledge space and where appropriate leading on the rollout of those initiatives in the Middle East.
• Provide ad hoc support and act as a central point of contact for associates and partners on general queries relating to know-how, trends, market positions and points of principle, responding accurately and usefully and in a timely manner on complex legal matters within own area of expertise.
• Prepare effective guidance material such as practice notes, drafting guides and what s market analyses to enable colleagues to access material that are fully up to date with precedent and market practice.
• Research legal or client/market-related material as requested to provide senior colleagues with clear and authoritative analyses, and gather, synthesise and produce up-to-date, readable material for inclusion in the firm s opinion pieces and internal briefings.
• Design and, where required, assist with delivery of internal team training sessions on core SFPs, key legal developments and market practice; identify opportunities to repurpose internal training content for client training and know-how sessions.
• Support the conversion of internal updates into client-facing publications, including client alerts and thought leadership, ensuring clarity, practical insight and alignment with firm style.
• Support partners and associates in client relationship development by preparing and/or identifying useful written and electronic materials that demonstrate our market insight and capability.
• Assist and, when necessary, participate in important practice group projects designed to ensure A&O Shearman s knowledge base and documentation are maintained in line with new legislation, significant case law and regulatory changes.