Baker Botts continues corporate department growth with partner hire in Dubai

Baker Botts has announced that Haitham Hawashin has joined the firm’s Corporate Department as a partner based in the Dubai office. Hawashin has extensive international and regional experience in public and private M&A, capital markets, private equity, and complex cross-border transactions across many sectors, including energy and technology.

“Haitham is a well-known and highly regarded transactional practitioner. As we strategically invest across the firm, we continue to add high performing talent who can offer our clients a unique level of service and deep expertise.  Not only will Haitham provide demonstrable value for our clients in the UAE and wider Middle East region, he will also significantly contribute to our growing cross-border corporate capabilities in the energy and technology sectors,” said John Martin, managing partner of Baker Botts.

The arrival of Hawashin, who joins the firm from Herbert Smith Freehills in Dubai, comes on the heels of strategic investments in the firm’s Corporate Department in London, where the firm recently announced the addition of corporate partner Nigel Stacey and special counsel Sian Williams from Gibson Dunn last month, and corporate TMT partner Stuart Blythe from CMS at the start of the year.

“Having experienced corporate partners like Haitham in the region enables us to offer clients a broad and distinctive skill-set on sophisticated deals in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and broader Gulf-region. Haitham’s international practice, particularly in the public M&A space, also adds weight to our cross-border capabilities between London and the Middle East,” said Mark Rowley, partner-in-charge of London and the Middle East at Baker Botts.

Hawashin has practiced in the UAE since 2013 and prior to that held positions with leading international firms in Australia, Taipei, Jordan, London, Singapore and Hong Kong. He is highly experienced in public company work covering both equity and debt transactions including IPOs, bond issuances, block trades and strategic investor investments, and is consistently recognised by all major legal directories for his work in the UAE and the wider Middle East region.

“Baker Botts has a very attractive international platform and deep sector expertise in energy and technology that fits well with my practice. I am very eager to help build on the firm’s strategy in the UAE and wider Middle East region, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where the market is buoyant,” said Hawashin.