33 Asian Legal Business | October 2024 structured to mirror the organizational structure of the company. The perfect mix of our workforce also plays a role: About fifty percent of our lawyers are expats with extensive specialized expertise. The other fifty percent are internationally licensed Saudi lawyers who, after having work experience at other organizations in the Company, were uniquely trained and educated at top universities. The combination provides for diverse and wellrounded teams with institutional knowledge that is conducive to increased engagement and closer relationships with internal clients. ALB: As a member of Aramco’s executive leadership team, how do you ensure that the legal function is closely integrated into the company’s strategic decision-making process? Al-Mansour: The legal organization’s integration into Aramco’s strategic decision-making process is deliberate and by design. At the leadership level, the GC is a permanent member of the top corporate committees responsible for the group’s strategy, investment, procurement, and other decision-making. This integration is then propagated throughout the legal organization, with our corporate and commercial practices Middle East Baker McKenzie has brought on board Dino Wilkinson as a partner and head of the firm’s Middle East data, cyber and technology practice. He joins from Clyde & Co in Abu Dhabi where he led the Middle East technology, media and telecommunications law practice, also playing a key role in developing the firm’s international technology, data and outsourcing practice. Wilkinson brings more than 12 years of extensive experience advising bluechip corporate and government clients on technology contracting, TMT, regulatory issues, and data protection compliance and cybersecurity matters. Linklaters has advised a Brookfield-led consortium comprised of First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mubadala, ADQ and Olayan on its take-private of Middle East and Africa payments business Network International Holdings, at a value of $2.8 billion, representing one of the largest private equity investments the region has ever seen. The deal team consisted of a cross-practice team of London and Dubai lawyers, led by Co-Head of the global financial sponsors sector Ben Rodham, corporate partners Chris Boycott and Rupert Cheyne (all London) and Middle East managing partner Scott Campbell, based in Dubai. UAE law firm Hadef & Partners has added Scott Hutton to head its engineering and construction practice. Hutton, who joins from BLK Partners, has close to two decades of experience acting for employers, contractors, consultants and funders. He also acts for local developers and landlords as well as international investors and contractors. Before joining BLK in 2020, he was a partner at Squire Patton Boggs. Hutton’s hire is part of the firm’s strategic expansion of its engineering and construction practice, following the addition of partner Humayun Ahmad earlier in the year. Banking and finance lawyer Aditi Sanyal has left the partnership at Simmons & Simmons in Dubai to join Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner. With over a decade’s experience in the Middle East, Sanyal’s practice focuses on supporting financial institutions across the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia with their conventional and Islamic financing needs. She covers both syndicated and bilateral corporate banking transactions and event-driven financings, as well as Islamic finance, real estate finance, project finance, acquisition finance and restructuring. Dentons advised Vale International on a joint venture with AP Oryx Holdings, an SPV of NYSE-listed Apollo Asset Management, in Vale Oman Distribution Center (VODC). Apollo will invest $600 million to acquire a 50 percent stake in VODC. The Dentons team was led by partner Jamie Gibson. Global law firm Greenberg Traurig has further expanded its Middle East practice with the addition of international disputes lawyer Nassif BouMalhab who joins as shareholder in the firm’s United Arab Emirates location. He joins from Clyde & Co, where he was a partner and led its Middle East arbitration group. BouMalhab focuses on complex business disputes in the Middle East. He has over 20 years of experience representing clients in international and domestic arbitration across global arbitral institutions. He has also advised investors on legal dispute resolution between investors and States under investment treaties, including under the arbitration rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Saudi law firm Khoshaim & Associates (K&A) has promoted disputes lawyer Abdullah Alajlan to the partnership. Alajlan routinely advises clients on matters of litigation and arbitration and will lead on K&A’s disputes involving construction, energy, securities, employment, and corporate issues. His career began with a role as a policy & advisory advisor at the Saudi Stock Exchange (TADAWUL), where he contributed to the development of exchange rules & regulations. Alajlan’s addition follows the firm’s recent hires of two veteran partners to its corporate practice, Christian Both and Omar Iqbal. Baker McKenzie has brought back disputes partner Sally Kotb in Dubai. Kotb was previously the head of arbitration at Habib Al Mulla & Partners. She has more than 17 years of experience advising clients on construction, real estate, energy, agency distribution, M&A, and shareholders’ disputes. “As we continue to build a robust and broad team in the UAE, we are excited to welcome Sally back to the partnership,” said Mohammad Al Rasheed, Baker McKenzie’s UAE managing partner. “Her addition will play a key role in further developing the Firm’s contentious offering and aligns with our broader growth strategy,” said Steve Abraham, Baker McKenzie’s EMEA head of dispute resolution. Middle East Roundup
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