The Legal 500

Al-Jadaan & Partners Law Firm in co-operation with Clifford Chance LLP is ‘a clear leader of the market for corporate and finance work’, and has achieved the uncommon feat of maintaining a stable alliance with its local partner. Clients value the team’s ‘excellent service levels, which includes responsiveness, business acumen, access to in-depth local and international expertise, and overall professionalism’. Tim Plews and Omar Rashid, who manage the corporate and M&A department, have been involved in various major transactions such as advising Aujan Industries on the $980m sale of approximately 50% of its restructured beverage manufacturing, bottling and distribution business to The Coca-Cola Company. It also advised the Carlyle Group on its acquisition of a 42% stake in Alamar Foods.

Legal Advisors in association with Baker & McKenzie’s excellent practice ‘deserves to be considered as part of the top tier’. Among other mandates, it advised Hitachi Plant Technologies on its acquisition of Saihati Weir Engineering Services. Practice head George Sayen is recommended.

Despite Mohammed Al-Sheikh’s departure, the corporate department at Law Office of Salman M. Al-Sudairi in association with Latham & Watkins LLP continues to work on major corporate matters and M&A, and it advised DaVita on its outpatient dialysis services joint venture with a local healthcare provider. Salman Al-Sudairi is the main corporate and finance partner.

Zeyad S. Khoshaim Law Firm in association with Allen & Overy LLP’s corporate lawyers show ‘superior depth of knowledge and attention to detail’, and provide an ‘overall very good service’. Johannes Bruski jointly heads the practice with Zeyad Khoshaim, who is recommended for corporate and transactional advice. The team assisted Levant Capital with its $100m joint acquisition (with Citi Venture Capital International) of a controlling stake in Al-Raya For Foodstuff Company, a leading supermarket chain in Saudi Arabia.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in association with the Law Firm of Salah Al-Hejailan advised Saudi Telecom Company on increasing its stake in PT Axis Telekom Indonesia; and Solvay on its joint venture with Sadara Chemical Company to build and operate a hydrogen peroxide plant.

Hatem Abbas Ghazzawi & Co.’s corporate team advises Dow Chemical Company on all of its corporate matters. Other clients include Varian Medical Systems and Vista Equity Partners. Practice head Andreas Haberbeck is ‘incredibly responsive’, and, due to ‘his knowledge of both Saudi and English law, he can be an excellent interpreter of Saudi law for those with an English law background’. Asad Abedi is ‘commercial, pragmatic and level-headed’.

Law Office of Mohanned bin Saud Al-Rasheed in association with Baker Botts L.L.P.’s Babul Parikh is ‘a talented attorney that becomes a true partner for the client’. He has ‘assembled a very good team’ which ‘provides legal services with both quality and efficiency’. The practice recently advised Saudi Investment Bank on a number of corporate restructurings involving its subsidiaries and joint ventures, as well as on corporate lending transactions.

Dr. Waleed N. Al-Nuwaiser in association with White & Case LLP is widely well regarded, and has remained active by working on the corporate elements of projects and for its marquee client, Saudi Aramco.

Abdulaziz A. Al-Bosaily Law Office in association with Clyde & Co LLP recently advised Hyder Consulting on its acquisition of a 70% interest in the Jeddah-based consulting engineering firm, SAK Engineering Consultants.

Al-Enezee in association with Squire Sanders advised the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities on the establishment and capitalisation of Al-Uqair Development Company, a public-private partnership to develop the SAR42bn Al-Uqair tourist destination project.

Al-Ghazzawi Professional Association (in association with Herbert Smith LLP) gives ‘excellent advice and has local knowledge on hand when required’. It advised the Al Shoula consortium on phase 2 of the Haramain High Speed Rail project, worth $8.2bn.

Al Tamimi & Company’s corporate team has been advising major clients on various multi-jurisdictional transactions. These included acting on Al Dhowayaan Group’s acquisition of an international logistics business. Senior associate Glenn Lovell is ‘a very knowledgeable and helpful lawyer’.

Law Office of Hassan Mahassni advised Al-Raya for Foodstuff Company Limited on its $100m sale of a controlling interest in the company to Levant Capital and Citi Venture Capital International. Other clients include Saudi Binladin Group.

King & Spalding in affiliation with the Law Office of Mohammad Al-Ammar has ‘among the best inter-office co-ordination in the country and a stellar responsiveness’. The team has been providing corporate support to the buoyant projects practice.

After opening in Riyadh in 2011, The Law Office of Looaye M. Al-Akkas in Association with Vinson & Elkins has strengthened its position in the market. The team advised China Petrochemical Corporation on its joint venture with Saudi Aramco to acquire a 37.5% equity interest in Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company.

Mohammed Al-Ghamdi heads Mohammed Al-Ghamdi Law Firm In Association with Fulbright & Jaworski LLP.’s corporate practice, which represents national and international clients such as Saudi Arabian Airlines.

The Law Office of Montaser Al Mohammed Al Yaqoub Attorneys & Legal Advisers in association with Hogan Lovells maintained its healthy corporate workflow and advised QInvest on its acquisition of a 60% stake in EFG Hermes’ investment banking, asset management and brokerage business.

David Wells is the main corporate partner at ‘well-respected’ local firm, Law Offices of Dr Mujahid M. Al-Sawwaf.

The Law Firm of Wael A. Alissa in association with SNR Denton & Co advised Weatherford Oil Tool Middle East on corporate matters related to its business activities in Saudi Arabia.

Faisal Allazzam heads Allazzam Law Office in Association with Holman Fenwick Willan LLP’s corporate practice, which acts for various local and international clients.

Corporate and commercial work is a core focus for The Law Office of Attayyar in Association with Alem & Associates, which is particularly notable for trade law and corporate structuring advice. Sattam Al Tayyar is the name to note.

DLA Piper Saudi Arabia has grown its practice consistently during the past few years, and its team locally advises the firm’s international clients, such as Pfizer and Boeing, on their activities in the country.

Dhabaan & Partners (in association with Eversheds KSLG) has earned significant mandates in the corporate and commercial work, both for private and public sector clients, and it was instructed by the Ministry of Labour to act as lead counsel on the overhaul of labour laws and court facilities in an effort to streamline processes in the Kingdom.

Jones Day In Association with Alsulaim Alawaji & Partners Law Firm has developed a robust corporate and M&A practice across its offices in Jeddah, Alkhobar and Riyadh. Yusuf Giansiracusa ‘deserves to be mentioned as one of the country’s top corporate lawyers’.

The Law Firm of Dr Khalid Alnowaiser is a local firm with substantial corporate experience, including share transfers in the petrochemicals market.

Riyadh-based The Law Firm of Mohammed Al-Sharif in association with Johnson & Pump advises Saudi and international clients on corporate and M&A matters. Clients include Tyco and certain government public offices.

Osool Law Firm’s ten fee-earners focus on corporate and finance work. In 2011, the firm announced its co-operation with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.