The Legal 500

The firm

The Law Office of Hassan Mahassni is one of the premier law firms in Saudi Arabia. The practice is structured around teams of highly qualified lawyers, including those who are able to work fluently in English, Arabic and French. Founded by Hassan MS Mahassni in 1970, the office has a large local and international practice focused on corporate, commercial and financial transactions, including joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, capital market transactions, banking, financial services, project finance and Islamic finance. The firm also has a significant litigation practice before courts and other adjudicatory authorities throughout Saudi Arabia.

The firm has a wide range of clients including multinational engineering and construction companies, pharmaceuticals companies, producers of consumer and industrial products, hotel management companies, airlines, commercial banks, Islamic financial institutions, investment banks, insurance companies, exporters, onshore and offshore drilling companies, shipping companies, hospital management companies, mining companies, electronics manufacturers, defense contractors, communications, publishing and entertainment companies and project developers.

Areas of practice

Project finance: the Law Office of Hassan Mahassni has extensive experience in project financings in Saudi Arabia. Among its notable project financing representations, the firm has acted as counsel to the sponsors in connection with the US$2.5bn project financing arrangement relating to the Shuaibah III IWPP (Saudi Arabia’s first IWPP) and its subsequent expansion, counsel to the sponsors in connection with the US$2bn project financing arrangement relating to the Shuqaiq II IWPP (Saudi Arabia’s second IWPP), counsel to the lenders in connection with the US$450m project financing arrangement for Red Sea Gateway Terminal Company’s third container terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port (the first private greenfield build-operate-transfer container terminal project in Saudi Arabia) and counsel to the sponsors in connection with the US$205m project financing arrangement for the Hajj Terminal Complex at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah (the first Shari’ah-compliant build-transfer-operate project of its kind in the Middle East)

Banking and finance: the firm acts as transaction counsel to various lenders and borrowers in connection with loan and syndicated loan facilities and other financing transactions. The Law Office of Hassan Mahassni also has extensive experience in the structuring, development, documentation and negotiation of Islamic finance transactions. It has recently advised in relation to numerous high-profile Islamic finance transactions.

Corporate and commercial: the firm has one of the oldest corporate and commercial practices in Saudi Arabia. It advises on all corporate and commercial matters including, joint ventures and foreign investment, licensing and formation of Saudi Arabian companies, domestic and cross-border acquisitions, corporate liquidations and commercial contracts. The Law Office of Hassan Mahassni recently advised TC Ziraat Bankasi AS in relation to the establishment of its branch in Jeddah, the first branch of a Turkish financial institution to be established in Saudi Arabia, and advised the developers in relation to the establishment of the various corporate vehicles for the US$30bn Jizan Economic City project. The Law Office of Hassan Mahassni has also advised numerous North American, European, Asian and African companies in relation to their investments in Saudi Arabia.

Dispute resolution: the firm has represented litigants in matters before all of Saudi Arabia’s courts and tribunals, including the Board of Grievances, both in administrative cases involving the Saudi Arabian government and in commercial cases between private sector litigants, the Negotiable Instruments Offices, the Shari’ah courts, the Primary and Supreme Labor Commissions and the Committee for the Settlement of Banking Disputes at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency. The Law Office of Hassan Mahassni has also represented clients in numerous arbitration proceedings.

Languages
Arabic
English
French

Number of lawyers 11