Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has unveiled plans to open an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, through a link-up with former associate attorney Khalid AlArfaj, who is expected to rejoin the firm as a partner.

The launch, by way of a merger with AlArfaj’s firm, AlArfaj & Partners, will give the top 70 US firm a physical base in the Middle East alongside its network of offices in the US, London and Asia, where it has five branches.

Pillsbury said it has applied to the Saudi Ministry of Justice for a licence to open in the Kingdom and will work with AlArfaj & Partners to establish its on-the-ground presence upon approval. 

The firm will operate in Saudi Arabia under the name Pillsbury AlArfaj. 

Khalid AlArfaj’s practice is focused on Saudi corporate matters and energy projects. He is returning to Pillsbury having practised as an associate in the firm’s Washington DC office between 2016 and 2018. He is licensed to practice in Washington DC and New York as well as Saudi Arabia, where he founded AlArfaj & Partners in 2020. 

Pillsbury chair David Dekker said: “Pillsbury has been involved in a wide range of work in the Kingdom over several decades, and the demands for in-country legal support are growing.

“We’re hearing this from clients in all the US, European and Asian financial and technology centres in which we operate, and from within Saudi Arabia itself. Against that backdrop, the time is right to expand our commitment to the Saudi Arabia market and the wider Middle East region.”

Recent work by Pillsbury in Saudi Arabia includes advising the Ministry of Energy and the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy on the creation of a civil nuclear programme in Saudi Arabia, and representing social media giant Snap in its establishment of a Saudi office last month. 

In September the firm also represented joint lead managers, including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, on Saudi-based aircraft leasing company AviLease’s $2.5bn aviation financing. 

AlArfaj’s practice spans M&A, joint ventures, corporate structuring, restructuring and governance, Pillsbury said. He regularly supports IPOs, rights offerings in Saudi Arabia’s capital markets and advises on private equity and venture capital transactions. 

AlArfaj also brings extensive energy sector experience. He contributed to reviewing the Saudi Nuclear Law draft and the Kingdom’s international nuclear agreements and advises international energy companies on projects and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements in Saudi Arabia.

Pillsbury also said it expects its energy, technology, financial, real estate and construction and life sciences capabilities will be “especially valuable” to clients operating in the Kingdom.

The firm’s broader Middle East practice consists of around 40 practitioners globally who work with clients in the region on in-country, inbound and outbound matters, the firm said. 

The launch makes Pillsbury the latest in a string of international firms to set up shop in Saudi Arabia amid its rise as an economic powerhouse.

In June last year, the Kingdom introduced changes to its rules governing legal practice that meant foreign firms could no longer operate there through associations with local firms and instead needed a licence granted by the Saudi Ministry of Justice. 

Since then more than 30 international firms have opened offices in the Kingdom or have applied to do so. Many – including Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and Clifford Chance – had previously had local associations. Others, including Greenberg Traurig, CMS and Addleshaw Goddard, had entered the market for the first time.