Shining a light on Singapore and solar with Alexander Hill, Managing Counsel, LightsourceBP.

When did you work at Norton Rose Fulbright and in what team?

I joined Norton Rose Fulbright in November 2014 in Singapore’s Project Finance team. I worked predominantly on the project documentation side with a focus on the energy and infrastructure sectors and I look back at my time at the firm as an enjoyable and transformative part of my career.

What did you enjoy most about your time with the firm?

I think it has to be the culture in the Singapore office. It is both collegiate and inclusive - not so easy in an office where there is steady stream of trainees rotating through the office from London and Australia and where many of the lawyers are lateral hires. I believe this unique culture is attributable to both the vibrant team of shared services staff and the partners who have been there for an extended period of time. It is a testament to those partners, Stephen Begley, Yu-En Ong, Nick Merritt, Jeff Smith and many others, who have created a great environment which new joiners naturally embrace. From the point of view of the work, I enjoyed working on numerous cross border transactions as it gave me the opportunity to interact with many international clients and our other regional offices. The strong emphasis on collaboration and team work made the work more meaningful and memorable. A project on windfarms in Thailand and another on gas projects in Malaysia were particularly notable.

However, it is fair to say that it is the people and the social aspects of life in the Singapore office which are my most outstanding memories. There are so many: the unofficial Christmas party at Vicky Jones’s condo in Sentosa and the office band “The NeRFs “ competing in LawRocks events and our weekly office boot camps which took place in one of the most prominent city parks in the sweltering heat with a rush hour audience adding to the pressure to stay fit and healthy. Sandy, our tea lady, was also pretty unforgettable. She had a big personality with an encyclopaedic recollection of everyone’s coffee order and made sure everyone started the day with a smile. There was also a collective commitment on a Friday evening to get the work done and make the end of happy hour to lessen the impact of Singapore’s expensive alcohol prices. I also have to mention Ian Teare’s superb organisational team-building skills - we trekked Mount Rinjanii, rowed the Singapore harbour and beat the Partners in competitive dragon boat races. All these events really nurtured the strong office culture.

Was there anyone at the firm who particularly inspired you?

My main inspiration was Nicky Davies who was my supervising partner. When I joined we shared an office, which unfortunately for our colleagues, meant the two messiest people in the team were in the same room. Sitting with Nicky meant that I learnt from her every day and it was obvious that she took her role as a mentor very seriously. Consequently, she had a huge and positive effect on my career and my personal growth. Nicky has been at Norton Rose Fulbright all her career and aside from being an incredible practitioner is a big advocate of developing your own network and building relationships with clients and colleagues at a more personal level. Her advice has been invaluable to me ever since and, working in London and now Australia, across many markets, the value of the relationships I have fostered is considerable. I am happy to say that I still get to work with Norton Rose Fulbright and am currently working on a project in Trinidad with Chris Down.

Where did your career take you after leaving Norton Rose Fulbright?

I left the firm and Singapore in January 2018 and joined LightsourceBP in the London office. Lightsource was a UK based/focussed solar developer and BP had acquired 50% of the company a couple of months before I joined. It was rebranded as an international utility scale solar vehicle and I was fortunate to join at a time of great growth and international expansion. I was able to draw upon my experiences in Singapore where I had been involved in lots of cross-border work and since joining LightsourceBP, I’ve worked on solar pv transactions in Spain, Poland, India, Taiwan and Korea.

What do you enjoy about your current role and what are its challenges?

My specific role is supporting the international business development team in developing utility scale solar pv projects in new markets. Since I started at LightsourceBP, it has expanded to 18 countries and our target is to have developed 25GW by 2025. The business is continuing in its high growth phase which fits my skill set perfectly. I really enjoy the international focus of my role. The culture of the company is quite special as it is still an entrepreneurial business. The founders are still part of the management team and there is a strong sense of pace and energy and a shared commitment to reach targets and make a difference to the energy transition – something which I find personally motivating. I am also fortunate to work with so many interesting, diverse and talented colleagues, including Andrey Spasov, who joined from Norton Rose Fulbright’s London office in 2020.

The challenges are probably the counter to the point around growth and development. The challenge is about how to add value and provide support in a high growth, fast-moving business where speed and execution are the critical factors. Even though solar is probably less complex than other technologies, there are still differences in land, grid, permits and regulation across countries (not to mention cultural differences). Being able to develop processes and precedents to allow our business to scale up quickly and efficiently in multiple jurisdictions while managing legal risk is probably the biggest challenge in my day to day role.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given? 

One piece of advice that was given to me by first boss at LightsourceBP which has resonated with me ever since is to focus on the trend. What I mean by that is that in a business where there is huge pace of change and high growth (especially coming out a private practice environment which is more stable and the scope of your role much clearer), there are always going to be challenges, inefficiencies and busy periods. However, what is important is to step back and look at the overall trend: what has improved and what has changed in that time. By regularly taking it back to this medium or long term view, you get a sense of perspective which can get lost in the day to day. This advice has certainly helped me to maintain a positive mindset.

What do you do to relax?

A few years ago when working in Singapore and London travel was a big part of my life. Since returning to Australia after living abroad for 8 years, my time is now spent reconnecting with family and friends and that has been really rewarding. At the moment, before the arrival of our first baby in a couple of months, I am getting match fit by doing as many fitness boot camps as I can around Sydney although not in a busy park with rush hour spectators!