Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla strengthens regional presence

The firm has appointed Andrew Mackenzie as partner in the Arbitration practice and Reggie Mezu as senior special counsel to launch their Tax practice in the UAE.

Andrew Mackenzie joins from Hogan Lovells in the UAE, specialising in international arbitration law, with a particular focus on construction, engineering, energy and insurance disputes. Admitted as a solicitor in both Scotland and England & Wales, and as a solicitor advocate in the higher courts of England & Wales, he has been based in the UAE for over eight years and also has full rights of audience in the Dubai International Financial Centre courts. Andrew acts for international corporations and governments across the Middle East, Africa and Asia on complex commercial disputes under a variety of civil and common law systems. He has tried cases in all of the major arbitration forums (both treaty-based and commercial) and also sits as an arbitrator.

Reggie Mezu, an international tax counsel with nearly 30 years’ experience in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, joins from leading tax advisory firm Cragus Group to offer Baker McKenzie’s global and local clients dedicated advisory and transactional tax support in the Middle East. Admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser in the UK, he has been based in the UAE for 15 years, regularly working with Baker McKenzie to advise clients on tax planning, corporate structuring, cross-border transactions, double tax treaties, reform and development of fiscal frameworks, general advice, and most recently, the new value added tax (VAT) regime in the Gulf region.

“We are delighted to have Andrew Mackenzie and Reggie Mezu join us to further support our clients operating in the Middle East through the life cycle of their operations, from structuring and advisory to dispute resolution,” said Dr. Habib Al Mulla, executive chairman of Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla. “Our continuous growth in the UAE is driven by our commitment to helping our clients achieve their objectives, particularly against the backdrop of the global geopolitical environment and the economic reforms taking place in the region.”

These appointments come on the back of the recent promotion of Tarek Saad to partner in the UAE Dispute Resolution practice and the hire of UAE Financial Services Regulatory partner Matthew Shanahan. This brings the number of partners based in the UAE to 19, with the firm offering clients a unique platform of local and international expertise, in English and Arabic, in the UAE.