Herbert Smith Freehills is delighted to announce the expansion of its global offering to clients in the Middle East following the launch of its formal exclusive association with the Law Office of Nasser Al-Hamdan and the appointment of three leading partners: Nasser Al-Hamdan, a corporate partner in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and two projects partners – Euan Pinkerton in Riyadh and Anthony Ellis in Dubai.
Nasser Al-Hamdan is a highly respected and high profile corporate lawyer specialising in capital market transactions, M&A, private equity and investment funds, as well as foreign direct investment into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is the Managing Partner of the Law Office of Nasser Al-Hamdan in association with Herbert Smith Freehills. He has also been elected a partner in Herbert Smith Freehills LLP having previously worked in both the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Based in Riyadh since 2011, Euan Pinkerton joins from White & Case, where he was a partner in the Energy, Infrastructure, Project and Asset Finance Group. A leading advisor in the Saudi market, Euan advises on both the financing and development aspects of projects, including conventional, Islamic and debt capital markets modes of financing, as well as matters of financial regulation and compliance with Sharia requirements in Saudi Arabia. His expertise covers oil and gas, infrastructure, petrochemicals, defence, manufacturing and real estate.
Together, Nasser and Euan will represent a formidable team in the Saudi Arabian market, with a wide network of client contacts, and technical and cultural market expertise.
Based in Dubai, Anthony joins Herbert Smith Freehills from DLA Piper where he has spent over seven years leading the development of several large scale power, water and process plant projects in the Middle East and Africa. His experience and capability on infrastructure projects in the region puts him in a unique position to support Herbert Smith Freehills’ expansion plans in the Middle East. Anthony will be joined by a senior associate seconded from the Australian offices.
This exclusive association with the Law Office of Nasser Al-Hamdan in Riyadh, alongside the appointments of Euan Pinkerton and Anthony Ellis, will further strengthen the firm’s existing Middle East team of eight partners and 31 lawyers working out of the Dubai and Doha offices.
Sonya Leydecker, Joint CEO, Herbert Smith Freehills, commented:
“Together with our recent launches in Johannesburg and Dusseldorf, this will be our third major investment in strengthening the firm’s presence across the EMEA region, a key focus for the firm to provide clients with a truly global offering.”
Herbert Smith Freehills’ Head of Middle East Zubair Mir commented:
“We are strongly committed to growing our leading practice in the region. Saudi Arabia is the only Arab nation belonging to the G20, has the largest projects market in the Middle East and is in the process of diversifying its economy, modernising its infrastructure and creating jobs. Our association with Nasser Al-Hamdan, which brings a leading corporate capability into Saudi Arabia, and the hire of projects partners Euan Pinkerton and Anthony Ellis, are therefore important steps for the firm which will help us to meet the current and future needs of our clients.”
Patrick Mitchell, Head of Infrastructure for UK and EMEA, Herbert Smith Freehills, commented:
“We are delighted to welcome Nasser, Euan and Anthony to the projects and infrastructure team and Nasser to our corporate global team. The addition of three partners of this calibre and regional standing, with Nasser’s corporate track record, will significantly enhance our projects and corporate capability in the Gulf and the wider Middle East.”
Source: www.herbertsmithfreehills.com
