29 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – MAY 2024 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM MIDDLE EAST Two major U.S. law firms, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Morgan Lewis, are opening offices in Saudi Arabia following a change last year in the country’s rules governing foreign lawyers practicing there. Saudi Arabia has been a “key focus” for Quinn Emanuel as it has “invested billions into diversifying its economy and encouraging international investment,” firm founder John Quinn said in a statement. Since Oct. 1, at least six other U.S. and international law firms, including Kirkland & Ellis, Squire Patton Boggs, and Greenberg Traurig, have said they’ve opened offices in Saudi Arabia or have been granted a license to operate in the country. The former co-head of Clyde & Co’s insolvency and restructuring disputes and contentious advisory practice, Nicola Jackson, has joined the partnership at Charles Russel Speechlys in Dubai. With over 15 years of experience in the Middle East, Jackson specialises in commercial and financial disputes before the Dubai International Finance Centre and Abu Dhabi Global Market courts. White & Case and Middle East law firm Meysan have advised Agility Public Warehousing Company KSCP (Agility) on its $4.5 billion direct listing on the main market of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). The listing involved shares in Agility’s subsidiary, Agility Global PLC (Agility Global). The White & Case team was led by Abdulwahid Alulama and Roger Gaspard in Dubai, and Laura Sizemore and Di Yu in London. The Meysan team comprised partners Bader El-Jeaan and Tarek Yehya, senior counsels, Mohammed Abdulwahed and Omar Yousif, and counsel Lama Abou Ali. International law firm CMS has expanded in the Middle East with the appointment of energy and infrastructure partner Keith Bullen. Bullen joins CMS from EY Law MENA, where he led the energy and infrastructure practice. He will split his time between Riyadh and Dubai. Bullen advises clients on the development of major infrastructure, power, and utilities projects across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. He specialises in public procurement, and has advised on transactions and first-of-their-kind procurement models for renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia and Oman. In January this year, the firm also appointed disputes partner James Abbott in Dubai. Saudi energy conglomerate Aramco has hired Bjarne Philip Tellmann as its deputy general counsel in Dhahran. Tellmann was previously the GC of UK-based consumer healthcare company Haleon in London. He has held high-ranking inhouse positions at pharma giant GSK, seafood company Mowi, Coca Cola and edteach company Pearson. Clyde & Co has bolstered its regional employment group with the addition of partner Ben Brown from Addleshaw Goddard in Dubai. Brown, who rejoins the firm after four years, specialises in contentious and non-contentious employment law across the UAE and the GCC. He has a particular focus on high-stakes employment litigation in the DIFC and ADGM Courts and has acted in significant employment cases in recent years. Sara Khoja, head of Clyde & Co’s MEA employment group, highlighted the firm’s strategy of aligning with market opportunities and client priorities, especially as the region continues to grow through increased investment and employment regulatory reforms. Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Dubai-based global supply chain solutions provider DP World on its proposed acquisition of 100 per cent of the Cargo Services Seafreight. The transaction involves the indirect acquisition of a majority stake in CN Logistics International Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Freshfields team was led by partners Edward Freeman and Michael Hilton, supported by counsel Daniel Boyle and associates Ciara O’Loughlin, Max Chapman, Kelly Huang and Haohan Li. Support with due diligence was provided by various Freshfields offices across the network. Tax advice was provided by partner Peter Clements, senior associate Chris Gotch and associate Christophoros Tsangarides. Eversheds Sutherland has grown its capital markets offering with the hire of Mohsin Abbasi as a partner in Dubai. Abbasi joins the global law firm’s banking and finance team from Clifford Chance. Abbasi specialises in debt capital markets and Islamic finance as well as advising financial institutions, corporate, sovereign and public sector clients on local and international transactions on both the issuer and bank side. He also advises clients on conventional bonds, sukuk, structured products, liability management exercises, regulatory capital and ESG issuances. The latest partner hires, big-ticket deals, office openings and more. COMPILED BY NIMITT DIXIT MIDDLE EAST NEWS ROUNDUP: MAY 2024
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