The Legal 500

As the go-to firm for the Bahraini government, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer commands a unique position in the market. Able to draw on deep resources in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Harnek Shoker’s team combines wide-ranging government work with large projects for investment banks. It is currently acting on a $1bn regional sovereign bond offering as well as several major restructurings. New clients include Lloyds TSB, Batalca and Astra.

Trowers & Hamlins’ ‘value-for-money’ practice supplements its reputation for healthcare and student accommodation matters with a wide range of other work including significant restructurings. Team head Bill Jefferies is ‘proactive and capable of providing advice on legal and wider issues’. Corporate real estate specialist Abdul-Haq Mohammed is also recommended.

Clive Hopewell’s team at Charles Russell LLP has established a vibrant on-the-ground presence, and is known for its ‘prompt advice’ and ‘good understanding’. The team is very active in the banking and aviation sectors, for clients such as Gulf Air and Kuwait Finance House, and acted for CIC Energy in relation to a proposed merger with a leading power producer in India. Tom Briggs ‘makes the effort to understand what the client is trying to achieve and delivers appropriate advice promptly’.

Although it saw various departures during 2011, Norton Rose (Middle East) LLP remains prominent in the jurisdiction, with its practice spearheaded by ‘very capable and diligent’ of counsel Adrian Woodcock. The team advised a large financial institution on its capital restructuring and spin-out of non-core assets, and also acted on the establishment of a representative office in Bahrain for AMP Capital Investors.

In addition to working on several complex cross-border transactions including the restucturing and formation of an SPV of Sika Gulf, ASAR – Al Ruwayeh & Partners conducted several shareholding transfers for major Bahraini companies. The firm is valued for its ‘quick, accurate response times’.

EAH Law’s ‘dynamic’ corporate team is a popular choice for many international firms. Practice head Sara Jawahery has expertise in telecoms and Islamic banking, and her team provides the full corporate and commercial service. Essa Jawahery is also recommended.

Jalil al Aradi heads the team at Hassan Radhi & Associates, which provides ‘quick turnaround’ in a ‘professional manner’. The firm assists Bahraini companies with local corporate issues, and foreign entities with complex land purchase and environmental issues. It recently assisted in the incorporation of a joint venture between a Bahraini company and a Kuwaiti company.

Hatim S. Zu’bi & Partners can draw on the services of the unique figure of Hugh Stokes, whose roots in the jurisdiction are unmatched. The firm has a track record in complex international joint ventures and corporate acquisitions.

Full-service law firm Haya Rashed Al Khalifa Attorneys at Law & Legal Consultants is active across the spectrum of M&A work, and is ‘among the best of the local firms’. Team head Shaikha Haya Al Khalifa is praised as ‘responsive’.

Qays H. Zu’bi, Attorneys & Legal Consultants handles corporate, regulatory and finance matters, providing ‘flexible and swift advice’. It recently assisted I.M Skaugen and Investment Dar with significant matters, and completed a large restructuring for a property purchase in Baku Azerbaijan.

Zeenat al Mansoori & Associates is instructed on a steady stream of M&A transactions, including multi-jurisdictional restructuring deals. One client is Tamkeen (The Bahrain Labour Fund), for which it carries out a variety of work such as implementing a health sector training programme and a support programme for the bailout of small businesses.