A&O Shearman strengthens its Middle East offering with arrival of corporate partner Ben Crawford

As part of A&O Shearman’s ongoing investment into the UAE, and the wider Middle East, Turkey & Africa region, corporate partner Benjamin Crawford has relocated from Beijing to the firm’s Abu Dhabi office.

Crawford brings a unique skillset having trained in A&O Shearman’s London office and worked in its Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai offices. Admitted to practice both in Hong Kong SAR and Victoria, Australia, he is also fluent in Mandarin Chinese so his expertise and experience having been based in Greater China for the last 15 years will be a significant differentiator in the region.

Crawford’s practice focuses on multijurisdictional cross-border M&A transactions, joint ventures and complex shareholder and commercial arrangements with extensive experience advising on transactions involving the financial services, technology and energy & natural resources sectors. His arrival will strengthen A&O Shearman’s ability to both support Middle East outbound activity in Asia and also assist Asian clients with their investments into the Middle East.

Ben Ward, META (Middle East, Turkey and Africa) Head of M&A/Corporate commented, “Asia-Middle East investment flows have increased rapidly in both directions in recent years, underpinned by supply chain diversification, energy transitions, digitalization and emerging technologies. The GCC’s growing relationship with Asia is evidenced by many of the gulf sovereign wealth funds increasing their investments in Asia’s markets and also opening offices in key hubs, so it’s clear that Ben’s move will enable us to further capitalise on these strategic opportunities.”

Ibrahim Mubaydeen, managing partner of A&O Shearman’s Abu Dhabi office, added, “Ben’s legal expertise, coupled with his fluency in Mandarin, brings a unique and valuable perspective to our team. His arrival further strengthens our capabilities and will undoubtedly create new synergies and opportunities for our clients both in the Middle East and Asia.”