Company Overview:
Our ingenuity fuels daily life. Together, we've forged some of the most trusted partnerships across the energy value chain to make what was once just an idea a reality: laying subsea infrastructure thousands of feet below sea level, installing platforms hundreds of miles from shore, using our expertise to design and build offshore wind infrastructure, and reshaping the onshore landscape to deliver the energy products the world needs safely and sustainably.
For more than 100 years, we've been making the impossible possible. Today, we're driving the energy transition with more than 30,000 of the brightest minds across 54 countries.
Job Overview:
The Senior Principal Counsel is tasked with solving unique and complex problems that have a broad impact on the business. They must proactively identify and solve the most complex problems that impact the management and direction of the business. They are considered specialists in the field of Counsel, and they offer a broad base of knowledge about Legal functions. They impact the direction and resource allocation of programs and projects in their discipline and work within general functional policies and industry guidelines. The Senior Principal Counsel role requires conceptual and innovative thinking to develop creative solutions to Counsel challenges.
The Senior Principal Counsel will be a US-based lawyer in Houston (Texas) serving as an experienced member of the Subsea and Floating Facilities Western Hemisphere legal group. This individual must be a business-focused lawyer with excellent transactional skills.
Key Tasks and Responsibilities:
- Serve as a legal leader, providing day-to-day counseling, recommendations, and advice to members of the Subsea and Floating Facilities Business Line.
- Represent McDermott and the Sustainability and Governance (“S&G”) function as a leader of people and culture.
- Provide legal guidance and project management support throughout a project lifecycle.
- Review Proposals / ITBs, prepare contract deviations, and manage negotiations for new opportunities (which includes reviewing EPC Contracts terms and conditions, pricing / payment schedules, the scope of work, project procedures, and execution schedules on a lump sum, unit rate, and reimbursable contract models) for projects ranging from several million to several billion dollars in value.
- Advise, review, and negotiate EPC project-related MOU, Consortium, Joint Venture, Partnership, and Shareholder Agreements.
- Advise on EPC Projects in various jurisdictions and work with and understand foreign governing / applicable law, which includes facilitating, understanding, and applying specialized legal advice from such jurisdictions.
- Ensure project contracts are consistent with the Company Project objectives and the Company Policies while avoiding onerous liabilities.
- Coordinate project reviews by insurance experts.
- Advise on and review financial instruments (e.g., letters of credit, bank guarantees) and project finance documentation.
- Participate in management review meetings.
- Support in the preparation, negotiation, and implementation of Subcontracts and Purchase Orders.
- Assist / advise in the preparation and negotiation of Change Orders, Extensions of Time, and Claims raised by Clients, Vendors, Subcontractors, and the Company.
- Review and negotiate pre-litigation claims raised by customers, vendors, and subcontractors.
- Identify and advise on compliance and anti-corruption matters while liaising with the internal Ethics & Compliance team.
- Plan and execute training to internal clients throughout the business.
- Collaborate with the S&G team to achieve an open and inclusive culture and to identify and implement process improvements.
Essential Qualifications and Education:
- Juris Doctorate or equivalent.
- Licensed to practice law in the United States (Texas preferred).
- Seven plus (7+) years of experience in the energy or construction industry.
- In-depth understanding of EPC contracting principles (preferably in the Oil, Gas, and Power sector), including experience in contract drafting, negotiations and contract management (litigation experience involving these aspects will be noted).
- Knowledge and familiarity working with projects in the United States (Mexico and South America preferred as well).
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Comfortable working in a matrix organization.
- Strong presentation skills.
- High degree of professional ethics and integrity, sound business judgment, and the ability to analyze situations and information that often involve a great deal of complexity and ambiguity.
- Able to liaise with and support executive leadership.
- Ability to work independently.
- Ability to travel to projects and offices around the world (travel + / - 15% expected).