Jeffrey Zhao

Legal Counsel at Aquila Clean Energy APAC | Founder of ClerkshipReady

Australia

About

As a legal counsel at Aquila Clean Energy APAC, I advise the company on its APAC renewables portfolio. I support end-to-end deal execution, including project development, M&A, and project financing, helping to advance the region’s transition to clean energy. I am also the founder of ClerkshipReady - an online platform built for students looking to kickstart their legal careers. Through articles, videos and curated resources, I hope to share useful and practical insights to help others grow with confidence in the legal profession.

Experience

  • Aquila Clean Energy APAC (On-site)
    • Legal Counsel
      Jun 2025 - Present · 1 yr 1 mo

      Aquila Clean Energy Asia Pacific (ACE APAC) is a clean energy platform that funds, develops, builds and operates solar PV, wind power and battery storage assets across the region. ACE APAC is part of Aquila Group, a sustainable investment and asset development company focused on generating and managing essential assets on behalf of its clients.  Today, Aquila Group manages EUR 15bn on behalf of institutional investors worldwide and has a 19 GW clean energy portfolio.

    • Lawyer (Secondee)
      Sep 2024 - Jun 2025 · 10 mos

  • Founder at ClerkshipReady
    May 2020 - Present · 6 yrs 2 mos

  • Ashurst (5 yrs 8 mos)
    • Lawyer
      Nov 2021 - Jun 2025 · 3 yrs 8 mos

      Lawyer in a market leading corporate practice advising on mergers and acquisitions (public and private), equity capital markets and corporate governance matters, with a focus on renewable energy and infrastructure clients. Experience includes advising: • VN Renewables on the sale of Banksia Solar Farm to Property Perfect Public Company Limited. • EDF Australia on its acquisition of a 300MW pumped hydroelectric energy storage project. • FTI Consulting on the sale of Sun Cable to Grok Ventures. • Petroliam Nasional Berhad on its acquisition of Wirsol Energy. • Aquila Capital on its acquisitions of various Australian renewable projects. • Macquarie Asset Management and Green Investment Group on its establishment of Eku Energy. • Aeon Metals on its placement and pro-rata entitlement offer to raise up to $12.5 million. • New Energy Solar on its delisting, $43.3 million capital return and $32.3 million share buy-back. • Judo Bank on its initial public offer and listing on the ASX valued at $2.3 billion. • Victory Hill on its acquisition of various Australian solar projects. • Kiwa Group on its acquisition CMW Geosciences Group. • Kiwa Group on its acquisition of Intega Group valued at $421 million. • Kingston Resources on its acquisition of the Mineral Hill mine. • Woodside Energy on its sale of a 49% participating interest in the Pluto Train 2 Joint Venture to Global Infrastructure Partners. • NSW State Super on its sale of its interest in Geelong Port to a consortium comprised of Spirit Super and Palisade Investment Partners.

    • Law Graduate
      Mar 2021 - Nov 2021 · 9 mos

      As a graduate lawyer at Ashurst, I rotated through three teams: Corporate Transactions, Transport & Infrastructure and Dispute Resolutions. In this role, I assisted Partners and Lawyers to draft and review transaction documents, conduct business development and prepare for client meetings. Our main clients were infrastructure and renewable energy entities such as Transport for NSW, Sydney Metro and New Energy Solar. I was also part of the Graduate Engagement Committee as a Learning Champion to foster greater learning and networking opportunities for our graduate cohort.

    • Paralegal
      Feb 2020 - Mar 2021 · 1 yr 2 mos

      I was a paralegal in two different teams: Global Regulatory and Financial Advisory where I drafted and reviewed agreements, prepared fortnightly market updates and was involved in managing the risk policies and procedures for international clients.

  • Paralegal at Clyde & Co
    Dec 2020 - Dec 2020 · 1 mo

    In the Cyber team, I reviewed relevant contractual and personal documents in response to a Data Breach and Privacy incident

  • Paralegal at Norton Rose Fulbright
    Jul 2019 - Nov 2019 · 5 mos

    Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Team • Reviewing customer files as part of a remediation program for a large financial institution in relation to the provision of financial advice. • Reported to Partners and Senior Associates in respect to review processes and key performance indicators.