Freshfields has announced the launch of an office in Saudi Arabia and a strategic alliance with its long-term Saudi associate firm, the Law Firm of Salah Al-Hejailan (LFSH).
Freshfields has had a partnership with 27-lawyer LFSH since 2009 and said it will continue to work with the firm, which will remain part of its global network of more than 300 relationship firms.
It added that its new standalone office in the kingdom was a continuation of its existing client service there and would complement its wider regional presence in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.
The office will be led by existing Freshfields corporate partner Fares Al-Hejailan and Amani Khalifa, head of the firm’s Saudi Arabia disputes practice. The team also includes Dubai-based commercial arbitration specialist Sami Tannous, who was appointed Freshfields’ MENA managing partner last September.
Tannous said Saudi Arabia and the Middle East more widely were a core focus for the firm.
“The kingdom is established as one of the most dynamic markets across the world, particularly in and around sustainable development projects – a growing priority for the region,” Tannous said. “We look forward to delivering ongoing market-leading service to our clients.”
Freshfields was the region’s top legal adviser for deals in the first half of the year, according to Bloomberg data, fuelled by advising key client Alphabet on its $32bn acquisition of Israeli cybersecurity company Wiz. It also acted for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company on its $13.4bn acquisition of Nova Chemicals from Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala Investment Co.
The firm’s upcoming Saudi launch follows the kingdom changing its code of law practice in 2023 to enable foreign firms to set up their own practices without the constraints of a local partner. The change came with a number of conditions, including that 70% of a firm’s lawyers must be Saudi nationals.
Dozens of leading US and UK law firms have opened offices in the kingdom or applied to do so since the rule changes, as the kingdom becomes increasingly important for clients. The Saudi government’s Vision 2030 project to diversify its economy away from dependency on oil has seen it launch $1.3trn in real estate and infrastructure projects alone over the past eight years, Bloomberg reported.
Many prominent law firms, including Clifford Chance, Linklaters and Latham & Watkins, had previously operated through associations with local outfits, while others, among them Addleshaw Goddard, Greenberg Traurig and CMS, have entered the market for the first time.
So far this year firms including Akin, Bird & Bird, Pinsent Masons, BCLP and Reed Smith have announced plans to open offices in Saudi Arabia or received approval to do so. In January, King & Spalding also merged with Saudi firm Al Fahad & Partners to create a combined firm with a majority of Saudi fee-earners.
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