DLA Piper today announced the appointment of partner, Murad Abida, who joins the Dubai office as Head of Corporate for the Middle East.
Murad, a Jordanian national with a plethora of regional expertise, was previously Joint Head of the Corporate practice at Hadef & Partners. He has more than 10 years’ experience as a corporate lawyer and has been involved in some of Dubai’s most complex corporate advisory matters. His practice covers all areas of corporate advisory work, including corporate finance, M&A, corporate restructuring and tax.
He has also been involved in infrastructure funds, real estate investment trusts, as well as financial regulatory issues, such as advising on economic legislative reform in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“Companies across the Middle East face increasingly challenging market conditions, both regulatory and economic, and we’re delighted that Murad has joined DLA Piper to lead our Corporate practice and support our clients in an ever changing environment,” commented Abdul Aziz Al-Yaqout, Regional Managing Partner at DLA Piper Middle East.
He continued: “The region offers a number of exciting opportunities and the coming year will be one of evaluation and evolution. Our clients require practical and candid advice that is deeply set in the regional and global environment, and our strong Middle East corporate team is perfectly placed to support their needs.”
Earlier in his career Murad worked as a tax adviser and with this experience, coupled with his legal expertise and knowledge of the Middle East, he will work across the region to strengthen DLA Piper’s corporate offering to clients.
Commenting on his arrival, Murad said: “Legal structures across the Middle East are changing at a fast pace, whether that be the evolving new trends in corporate and financial structures in Kuwait, the increasing appetite for infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia, or the recent drive for economic and legislative reform in the UAE.
The challenge for all companies operating in the region is to stay competitive, globally and regionally, and ensure they keep abreast of the complex of legal changes. There is a great opportunity for DLA Piper to further expand its already impressive regional footprint and I am excited to be part of what is sure to be a highly successful stage of the firm’s development in the Middle East.”
Murad officially joined DLA Piper on 3 October 2010.
