King & Spalding today announced that international arbitration lawyer Samaa Haridi has joined as a partner in the firm’s Trial and Global Disputes practice group in the New York office. Haridi joins the firm from Hogan Lovells where she led its Middle East practice.
Haridi is a civil and common law trained, trilingual lawyer with over 20 years of experience in international commercial and investment arbitrations, with a focus on disputes involving clients engaged in business in the Middle East and the emerging markets.
“Maintaining a strong international arbitration team is a strategic priority, and Samaa’s hire will further strengthen our bench of senior-level talent in this critically important market,” said Andy Bayman, head of King & Spalding’s Trial and Global Disputes practice group. “Her connections in the Middle East will not only be of great value to our international arbitration team, but also for our other practices and offices that focus on developing and executing work in the region.”
In addition to providing counsel, Haridi frequently sits as an arbitrator in international commercial and investment disputes. She is also currently serving as a vice president of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, senior co-chair of the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association, and a member of ICCA’s Governing Board.
“Samaa is well known to me and many of our partners personally and professionally, and all of us hold her in high regard,” said Edward Kehoe, co-head of King & Spalding’s International Arbitration and Litigation team. “She is energetic and ambitious, and her entrepreneurial spirit should prove invaluable for cultivating relationships with clients and colleagues.”
Haridi received her law degree from the University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne and her LLM from the University of San Diego. She is fluent in French and Arabic and conversant in Spanish.
“The firm’s international arbitration team has an outstanding reputation, both the people and the work,” said Haridi. “I could not pass up an opportunity to join a team of the caliber and strength of King & Spalding’s.”
