BonelliErede announces integration of regional law firm TLA

BonelliErede announced the integration of regional boutique law firm Tribonian Law Advisors (TLA), based in the UAE and operating in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia through an international partnership.

The integration comes as a strategic move to further boost the firm’s ambitions to expand internationally and specifically in the Middle East and Africa. Together with its recently opened office in Dubai and on-ground operations in Cairo and Addis Ababa, BonelliErede will see its regional activity expand to include a further reach into Riyadh and Beirut.

BonelliErede confirmed the full integration of all TLA lawyers and staff into its business. With the added outposts and more than a dozen professionals, BonelliErede will significantly build on its current Middle East presence, comprising a strong offering in M&A, international arbitration, project finance, construction and international tax law.

TLA, founded in 2011 by Rindala Beydoun, has developed significant knowledge of the intricacies of investing in the Gulf Region, as well as of international and local companies and financial institutions that operate in the region. The firm has also gained expertise in different African jurisdictions, in line with BonelliErede’s expertise in said continent.

Beydoun graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in political science and received her J.D. and LL.M. in international law from Duke University School of Law. She is a US qualified lawyer, has gained significant corporate experience in the Gulf Region and has a successful track record as a partner at the leading international firms of Vinson & Elkins and Latham and Watkins.

Beydoun will take on the role of managing partner of BonelliErede Middle East and will be a member of BonelliErede’s Africa Committee. Andrea Carta Mantiglia will retain his role as executive chairman of BonelliErede Middle East. Carlo Pianese and Emile Boulos, both UK qualified lawyers, will join the team in Dubai as local partners, alongside Marco De Leo and Roberto Flammia, existing Dubai-based local partners at BonelliErede.

Commenting on the integration, Stefano Simontacchi and Marcello Giustiniani, co-managing partners at BonelliErede, said, “The integration of TLA is a key strategic step for our Africa and Middle East practice and is in line with BonelliErede’s international expansion plans. We see high levels of opportunity in this Region and investing in a broader local presence reaffirms our strong commitment towards the MEA region and our clients.”

Andrea Carta Mantiglia, executive chairman at BonelliErede Middle East added, “In a short space of time, TLA has established a well-respected reputation and won awards for its expertise in a number of key areas. Drawing on extensive regional knowledge from a larger and stronger team enables us to expand on our ability to support multinationals as well as investors from diverse locations within the Middle East to navigate investments into the Arab World and Africa, and prepare and manage their expansion across the continent.”

Rindala Beydoun commented, “Over the past seven years we have worked hard to ensure a solid reputation for TLA. Now it’s time for us to grow and our integration with BonelliErede presents the best opportunity. Their expansion strategy on the African continent and in the Mediterranean area was decisive for us as we see them as two areas where investments will be strongly concentrated in the years to come.  We aim to advise multinational companies and investors from many different Middle Eastern countries to direct investments in the Arab world and Africa, by helping them manage their growth.”

The integration of the two firms is expected to be completed by July 1, 2018 with the existing Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC)-based office of BonelliErede becoming the firm’s new Middle East headquarters.