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Jessica Stratford

Senior Registered Foreign Lawyer (admitted in England & Wales, not admitted in Australia), entitled to practise foreign law only

Email

jessica.stratford@aoshearman.com

Phone

+61 8 6315 5950

Offices

Perth

V-CARD
Jessica is an English law qualified banking and finance lawyer with a wide range of experience advising financiers, sponsors and borrowers on cross-border project finance, corporate finance and leveraged finance transactions. 
She has particular expertise advising on mining, energy and resources projects in the APAC region as well as sub-Saharan Africa. Jessica has previously worked at our London and Paris offices. Pursuant to her status as a registered foreign lawyer in Western Australia, she is also entitled to practise Australian law under the supervision of an Australian legal practitioner.

Expertise

Industries

Experience

Representative matters

  • USD750m: A group of financial institutions as lenders on the financing of Emirates Global Aluminium’s development of a 12 mtpa bauxite mine, rail and port project in Guinea.
  • USD1,025m: Fortescue Metals Group on their syndicated revolving credit facilities.
  • AUD134m: A global financial institution and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility on the financing of Kalium Lakes’ Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project in Western Australia.
  • USD100m: Pilbara Minerals on their Nordic project bond issue to raise funding for development of the Pilgangoora lithium project in Western Australia.
  • EMR Capital on the financing of its acquisition of the Golden Grove base and precious metals mine in Western Australia and related refinancing.
  • Proparco on its mezzanine financing of the 72 MW Krnovo wind farm in Montenegro. The project won the EMEA Finance Project Finance – Best Sustainability Deal in 2016.
  • CDC and Norfund on the acquisition of a portfolio of power plants and associated infrastructure in five African jurisdictions (Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania). The portfolio includes gas-fired IPPs and a gas-to-power project.
  • African Development Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, FMO and Proparco on the financing of the 120MW Itezhi-Tezhi hydropower project in Zambia.
  • NEXI and a syndicate of commercial banks on the USD1.43bn debt financing of the Az Zour North IWPP, the first independent water and power project in Kuwait. The project won the IFLR Middle East Project Finance Deal of the Year in 2014.
  • International Finance Corporation, Standard Bank and OFID on the financing of the 80MW Gulf Energy (Athi River) HFO power project in Kenya.

Pro bono

  • Assisting the UNHCR with a research project looking at the international and domestic legal frameworks relating to child protection and their application to child refugees, across a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Qualifications

Admissions

Admitted as a solicitor, England and Wales, 2011

Academic

BA, Law with French Law, Magdalen College, Oxford University, 2006

Languages

French, English
Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.