King & Spalding, a “Global 50” firm with 16 offices across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Asia, has represented companies and investors doing business in the Middle East for almost three decades. With 25 lawyers resident in our Dubai, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi offices, the firm provides sophisticated advice and responsive service to clients from the U.S., the U.K. and Europe who are undertaking important investment and commercial transactions in the countries of the Arabian Gulf, including Iraq, and the greater Middle East and North Africa.
Our Middle East lawyers specialize in joint ventures, private equity investment transactions, fund formation, real estate finance and investment, construction, Islamic and commercial finance, project finance and dispute resolution. Chambers Global and The Legal 500 have consistently awarded high rankings to our Middle East practices, particularly in the areas of corporate transactions, fund formation and Islamic finance, and our lawyers are recognized by these publications as experts in the laws of Saudi Arabia (Nabil Issa and Mohammad Al-Ammar), the laws of the UAE (Wael Wahbeh and Nabil Issa), the field of private equity (Benjamin Newland and Wael Wahbeh) and the practice of Islamic finance (Jawad Ali and Isam Salah).
King & Spalding is consistently recognized for the depth of its expertise in industries such as energy, real estate and construction, telecommunications, financial services, healthcare and life sciences. Our Islamic finance practice was the first recipient of the Euromoney’s annual law firm award for excellence in the field, and we continue to be leaders in this rapidly evolving practice area. In addition, King & Spalding is a world leader in both foreign investment arbitration and international commercial arbitration. In the commercial arena, the firm was named Law Firm of the Year in 2008 by ACQ Finance magazine, handling a large range of disputes involving energy, construction, joint venture arrangements, health care, pharmaceuticals, finance, telecommunications, automotive, technology, intellectual property and real estate. In the Middle East, our lawyers have represented clients in businesses ranging from education to in-flight catering; from oil-field services to cement; from petrochemicals to juice producers; and from pharmaceuticals to telecomm-unications to logistics.
Lawyers in our Middle East offices are closely integrated with our lawyers in London, Geneva, Singapore and the United States, and are supported by an international law firm of more than 800 lawyers, which allows us to deliver results to our clients on their schedules and with the best specialist expertise available.
Practice Capabilities and Highlights
Corporate Transactions
Joint ventures and strategic alliances – mergers and acquisitions – minority investments – corporate borrowings – restructurings – public offering and listing of securities
Government Contracts and Licensing
Privatization bids – concession arrangements – import and export regulations – licensing branches and forming subsidiaries – set-up in free zones – labour law issues
Projects
Project development – construction and EPC agreements – project finance (including Shari’ah-compliant finance and investment structures).
Investment Funds
Structuring and formation of investment funds – particular expertise in funds licensed by the Saudi Arabian Capital Markets Authority and Shari’ah-compliant funds – preparation of offering documents – advice on compliance with securities offering regulations
Real Estate and Construction
Commercial, industrial, residential and specialty (e.g. schools, hospitals and hospitality) real estate – civil engineering – real estate funds – mixed-use developments – Shari’ah-compliant investments
Energy
Oil and gas, specializing in upstream, gas and LNG projects – petrochemicals – power and water projects – renewable energy, including ethanol, biodiesel, solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower projects – shipping and transportation
Corporate Governance
Compliance with export controls and sanctions regimes imposed by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations – compliance with anti-bribery and anti-money-laundering rules – compliance with regulations regarding sources of terrorist financing
