King & Spalding merges with Saudi firm

Tie-up with Al Fahad & Partners adds 17-fee earners to US firm’s nine-lawyer Riyadh team

Abdulaziz Al Fahad(l) and Fahad Alarfaj Credit: King & Spalding

King & Spalding has absorbed Saudi Arabian law firm Abdulaziz H Al Fahad & Partners Lawyers (Al Fahad & Partners) in Riyadh, significantly expanding its presence in the Kingdom. 

The combination brings the US firm 17 mostly fee earners in Riyadh, including Al Fahad & Partners’ founder and managing partner, Abdulaziz Al Fahad, and three other partners: Fahad Alarfaj, Ibrahim Alkhudair and English-qualified lawyer Phil Loynes. 

Alarfaj has been named managing partner of the combined office, while Al Fahad will serve as chairman of King & Spalding’s Saudi Arabia practice. 

The top 20 US law firm said the office, which will have 26 fee earners in total including seven partners, will focus on corporate, finance, energy and real estate matters as well as Islamic finance, funds, construction, projects, M&A and dispute resolution. It will operate under the name King & Spalding Al Fahad. 

Chairman Robert Hays said the firm had worked with Al Fahad & Partners on numerous matters in the past.  

“Our clients have told us that the combination of King & Spalding’s international experience and global footprint and Al Fahad & Partners’ Saudi experience creates a differentiated offering for them in the Kingdom,” he added. 

Founded in 1985, Al Fahad & Partners is known for its strength in litigation and arbitration and also brings expertise in energy, capital markets, corporate and commercial, regulatory and real estate. 

“As Saudi Arabia looks increasingly towards international investments, the requirement for integrated local and international legal skills is a must for any law firm wanting to succeed in the region,” Al Fahad said. “Joining forces with King & Spalding is a perfect fit for us and our clients as we look ahead to a new era for Saudi Arabia.”

The tie-up follows a host of Big Law firms opening branches in the Kingdom over the past few years, after the oil-rich nation changed its code of law practice 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, creating a highly competitive market for homegrown talent. 

King & Spalding has long been active in Saudi Arabia, achieved until 2023 through an affiliation with the Law Offices of Mohammed AlAmmar, which was forged in 2007. That relationship ended when the US firm received its foreign law licence.

Last year Saudi Venture Capital’s former chief legal officer, Haifa Bahaian, joined the firm’s real estate and funds practice in Riyadh as a partner. 

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