Greenberg Traurig (GT) has added real estate and hospitality lawyer Louisa Lynch as co-chair of the firm’s Middle East and European hospitality group, working from its UAE office in Dubai.
Lynch joins from Pinsent Masons, where she was a partner. She previously worked at Norton Rose Fulbright for nearly 13 years, advising clients across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar.
She has deep experience in complex real estate and hospitality transactions, including acquisitions and disposals of properties, complex built-to-suit development projects, real estate financing and all aspects of hospitality management. She also works with regulatory authorities on drafting and implementing real estate regulations, guiding regeneration projects and cultural development initiatives.
In July, GT announced that it hired Elias Hayek from Squire Patton Boggs (SPB) to co-chair the firm’s Middle East and European hospitality group, but did not name his co-chair at the time. At SPB, Hayek was a partner and head of its global hospitality and leisure practice.
Khalid A. Al-Thebity, GT’s Middle East regional chair and managing shareholder of the firm’s Saudi Arabia office, said: “Undoubtedly, she (Louisa) and Elias will form a great partnership as co-chairs of the firm’s Middle East and European hospitality group together with our existing leading real estate regional practice.”
Lynch is licensed to practise law in England and Wales and as a Dubai legal consultant.
Hayek, meanwhile, will spend time in Dubai, Riyadh and London, where he represents clients in the hospitality, leisure and entertainment industries on transactions including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, hotel project leasing, and mixed-use and branded residential developments.
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