Law Firm Highlights March 2016
· King & Wood Mallesons’ (KWM) chief operating officer (COO) for Europe and Middle East, Rachel Reid, has exited the firm to join Taylor Wessing, The Lawyer reported. The news came days after the resignation of managing partner William Boss, who will step down a year early in May. Reid has been replaced on an interim basis by KWM Australia COO Tim Finlayson. She will take up her new role as COO and board member at Taylor Wessing in February. Reid was promoted to COO in 2014 having also served as the firm’s diversity and inclusion manager. She was brought in from Mayer Brown’s London office in 2013 where she was strategy director. No names have yet surfaced to takeover from Boss as head of KWM in the UK, Europe and Middle East.
· Pinsent Masons hassecured the Commodity Murabahah/Tawarruq award, at this year’s Islamic Finance News (IFN) Awards. The award is for the counsel Pinsent Masons provided to Dubai Islamic Bank on two separate commodity murabahah facilities provided to Aydin Deniz of USD10 million each. Aydin Deniz, part of the Aydin Group, is a major Turkish marine services operator. Commenting, Amir Ahmad, Partner at Pinsent Masons, said, “We are delighted to be celebrating consecutive IFN award wins. The two transactions, totalling USD20 million, reinforce Pinsent Masons’ position amongst the top tier of Islamic Finance legal advisors in the Middle East – and, importantly, help to further Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's vision to make Dubai the global capital of the Islamic economy.”
· Bracewell & Giuliani, with offices in Dubai, London, and the US, has announced that by amicable agreement, Rudolph W. Giuliani will be leaving the firm effective January 19, 2016. Going forward the firm will be referred to as Bracewell, a brand by which the firm is already internationally known. “After a decade in which Rudy helped us build what is now a very successful and thriving New York office, we thank Rudy and wish him our very best,” said Mark C. Evans, firm-wide managing partner. “Our New York office and our white collar practice will continue to have tremendous leadership through our long-time New York Managing Partner, Daniel S. Connolly, who joined the firm with Rudy in 2005, and has substantial prosecutorial experience." “One of the main goals I had in joining Bracewell was to help the firm build a strong presence in the New York legal market,” said Mayor Giuliani. “By any measure, we have achieved that objective and I’m proud of the success the New York office has had and will continue to have. Bracewell is a great firm and although I will miss my friends and colleagues at the firm, it’s time for me to move on to other challenges.”
· Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) announced the expansion of its specialist Middle East legal offering with the launch of three new Associations in Riyadh, Beirut and Kuwait City. The move significantly extends the firm's geographical footprint across the Middle East region, now with offices in Dubai, Riyadh, Beirut, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, and further strengthens and diversifies the capabilities of the existing team, taking the total number of lawyers working across the region to 40. Operating through associations with established local law practices Al-Enezee in Riyadh and El-Khoury & Partners (EKP) in Beirut, both of which have well recognised practices and a strong portfolio of regional business, HFW will continue to represent local businesses and government entities as well as multinational companies, financial institutions and private investors throughout the MENA region. The combined Saudi and Beirut-based team of 15 lawyers, led by Ziad El-Khoury alongside Khulaif Al-Enezee (Riyadh), Wissam Hachem (Riyadh) and Hadi Melki (Beirut) has more than 15 years 'on the ground' experience. In Kuwait, the firm will operate through an association with Rula Dajani Law Office, headed by the firm's Middle East Managing Partner Rula Dajani Abuljebain, to provide a range of onshore legal services across the firm's core industry sectors, and including local litigation. Rula will split her time between Dubai and Kuwait."We recognise the importance of the Middle East region to world trade and as such, it has become an increasingly important part of our growth strategy," said HFW's Senior Partner Richard Crump. "The addition of these Associations rapidly moves HFW into the top tier of firms operating in the region in terms of geographical footprint and size of team, which in turn enhances our experience and language capability and, importantly, provides greater cultural understanding to better serve our full client base across the region."
