Pinsent Masons has bolstered its Middle East presence with the launch of an office in Riyadh, becoming the latest international law firm to look to Saudi Arabia as it becomes increasingly significant for clients.  

The new office is Pinsents’ fourth in the region after Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, and will be led by Ibrahim Alajaji, a project finance and construction specialist who has joined the firm having been a partner at former local ally Alsabhan & Alajaji. 

The two firms will operate independently going forward but will continue their exclusive collaboration through a strategic alliance, Pinsents said. Alsabhan & Alajaji will focus on local courts and legislation drafting under the leadership of Naif Alsabhan, its remaining partner. 

Pinsents said its new office underscored its commitment to the Middle East and would enable it to take advantage of the Saudi government’s Vision 2030 project to diversify its economy away from dependency on oil, which Bloomberg reported had seen it launch $1.3trn in real estate and infrastructure projects over the past eight years. 

“The Vision 2030 programme is creating new opportunities for domestic and international investors, while also transforming the kingdom’s legal and regulatory landscape,” said Catherine Workman, partner and head of the Middle East at Pinsents. “We welcome Ibrahim Alajaji and his team. We also look forward to continuing our collaboration with Naif Alsabhan, without whom this exciting development would not have been possible.”

Alongside his management duties, Alajaji will lead the Riyadh office’s advisory practice and specialise in corporate law, M&A, joint ventures, real estate and construction, and labour law. He also brings experience in corporate and real estate litigation. 

Pinsents has two further partners based in its new office, according to its website: Rena Scott, who joined last October from Orrick and heads the firm’s Saudi construction advisory and disputes team, and Middle East finance and projects head Tim Armsby. 

Both Armsby and Alajaji have advised Saudi Arabia’s National Centre of Privatisation, which oversees the privatisation of selected government entities and PPPs as part of Vision 2030. 

Alajaji commented: “Our collaboration has allowed us to deliver top-tier legal services in Saudi Arabia, and this new structure strengthens our ability to do so. It positions our transactional team to provide greater value in the Saudi market while supporting the country’s economic transformation.”

He added the move “presents opportunities for Saudi legal talent. Young professionals will gain exposure to high-value transactions and complex legal matters within an international law firm. Through a structured training programme, they will develop expertise in navigating Saudi Arabia’s evolving legal and regulatory landscape”.

Pinsents’ 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. Many firms, like Clifford Chance, Linklaters and Latham & Watkins, had previously operated there through associations with local outfits, while others, including Addleshaw Goddard, Greenberg Traurig and CMS, have entered the market for the first time.  

Just last month BCLP announced plans to open bases in Riyadh and the coastal Saudi city of Al-Khobar, while Reed Smith said it had secured its licence from the kingdom’s Ministry of Justice.