Dentons grows corporate practice in Saudi Arabia with key associate hires

Shaima Bakhsh and Arwa Alfawzan

Dentons continues to expand its corporate practice in Saudi Arabia with the hire of senior associate Arwa Alfawzan and associate Shaima Bakhsh, both joining the Firm from the associate office of Allen & Overy in Riyadh.

A rising star in the legal market and a distinction alumna of University of Pennsylvania, Alfawzan brings extensive experience of advising on both public and private transactions having recently advised on two of the largest transactions in Saudi Arabia in 2019. A New York qualified Saudi national, Alfawzan focuses on Capital Markets transactions and advisory matters.

Bakhsh, a first class honours University College London and Cardiff University alumna, also highly valued by peers and clients alike, is qualified in Saudi Arabia and specialises in advising on joint ventures and corporate transactional and advisory work with a particular focus on the oil and gas sector. She has worked on complex deal negotiations and advised on some of the most important and strategic joint ventures and M&A deals in the Kingdom in recent years.

The hire of Arwa and Shaima follows that of corporate counsel Imtyaz Sattar as well as litigation senior associate Salman Aloraifi who also joined Dentons’ Saudi practice in October. Commenting on the recent additions, partner Irfan Butt, who heads up the corporate team in Saudi Arabia said, “We are delighted to welcome Arwa and Shaima to the team. The calibre, breadth and depth of varied experience of our now 10-member corporate practice across Riyadh and Jeddah is testimony to our commitment to supporting the very best Saudi talent in the market”.