Z&Co > Riyadh, Saudi Arabia > Firm Profile

Z&Co Offices

Z&Co
The Business Gate, Unit No. 13 Ground floor
2362 Qurtubah
Riyadh 13244 - 7440
Saudi Arabia
Visit website 020 3088 0000

Z&Co > The Legal 500 Rankings

Saudi Arabia > Dispute resolution Tier 1

Z&Co is singled out for its strength in acting for creditors in corporate insolvency matters and regularly represents government bodies in commercial disputes. Housed in Riyadh, the team led by Monaji Zamakhchary handles several contentious matters for multinationals and conglomerates operating in the banking, tax and telecom sectors. Former deputy Minister of Justice Abdulatif AlHarthi also jointly leads the group with Sarah Gonem who also leads the regulatory practice.

Practice head(s):

Monaji Zamakhchary; Abdulatif AlHarthi; Sarah Gonem

Testimonials

‘The team has outstanding legal expertise and availability for the clients. Monaji Zamakhchary is an excellent strategist and legal advisor.’

‘Z & Co has the right blend of local expertise and “western” client management expertise, which makes a client feel comfortable in a fairly opaque jurisdiction.’

‘I love the fact that the lead partner on my Saudi Arabian matter is a woman. Sarah Gonem is an excellent lawyer, a strong communicator and guides me through the nuances of the jurisdiction with care, commerciality and common sense.’

‘Sarah is well supported by a team of associates, as well as the firm’s managing partner Monaji Zamakhchary, who is also excellent.’

‘Good diversity, both gender and cultural, which makes them really easy to work with.’

‘Sarah Gonem is excellent, experienced and confident.’

Key clients

Uber BV and Uber Saudi

KSA government, led by the Ministry of Finance

Consortium of banks, led by Banque Saudi Fransi

Grant Thornton as liquidator for SICL and Singularis Holdings Limited

SIFCO5

Deloitte Touche & Co.

Individual Deloitte Partners

Zain Group

Limitless

Bersheda Law

Majed Bahatheq

Joseph Hage Aaronson LLP

Work highlights

  • Successfully secured judgment in favour of the Government of KSA in a claim filed against it at the Arab Investment Court.
  • Representing Uber BV and Uber KSA in disputes with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) arising from substantial VAT assessments.
  • Advising SICL and Singularis in judgments for over $2.2bn in the insolvency of Maan AlSanea at the Commercial Court; and provided advice on Saudi law matters for the $320m claim against Samba Bank at the UK Court of Appeal.

Saudi Arabia > Banking and finance Tier 2

Housed in Riyadh, Z&Co has a reputable banking practice and is active in high-end Islamic financings and transactional mandates. The group leverages its regional presence in Dubai to handle large cross-border Murabaha-compliant transactions for banking clients. Practice head Omar El Sayed is noted for his syndicated loan work in the Gulf region and is supported by key partners Martin Creek and head of the Middle East energy practice Matthew Keats. Experienced associate Mustafa Darwich in Dubai is also a recommended contact. The team has sector strength across real estate, infrastructure, and transport.

Practice head(s):

Omar El Sayed; Kieron Zaman; Andrew Jennens; Matt Keats; Martin Creek

Other key lawyers:

Mustafa Darwich

Testimonials

‘Strong team and very active in the market.’

Key clients

Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia

National Commercial Bank

Alinma Bank

Banque Saudi Fransi

Riyad Bank

Mawarid Holdings

Saudi Electricity Company

Brookfields

Technical Link Services

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC)

Al Rajhi Holding Group

Kingdom Holding Company

NEOM

Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

HSBC Bank

Work highlights

  • Advising National Commercial Bank on its debut jumbo syndicated Islamic financing.
  • Advising Alinma Bank as financier on the Musharakah, Ijara and Bai Ajel facilities to Alinma Jeddah Economic City Real Estate Fund.
  • Advising the lenders HSBC Bank plc and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank on a Hermes covered green ECA loan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to finance 842 buses for the new Riyadh public transport network.

Saudi Arabia > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 4

Z&Co has a reputable corporate practice that is led by Waleed Rasromani who splits his time between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The group advises on cross-border mergers, disposals, and joint venture agreements. Transactional work, including M&A, corporate finance deals and investments, are dealt with by experienced partner Nicholas Edwards in Abu Dhabi and Scott Campbell assists from Dubai, while associate Muyasser Albar maintains a permenant presence in Riyadh. Martin Creek is recommended for corporate finance transactions.

Practice head(s):

Nicholas Edwards; Waleed Rasromani; Martin Creek

Other key lawyers:

Muyasser Albar; Scott Campbell; Faysal Lassas

Testimonials

‘Competence and availability are the key strengths of the law firm.’

‘Managing associate Faysal Lassas was in contact with the client 24×7 during the Covid period and did not allow any deadline to slip by. He had full grasp of the assignment and facilitated everyone, including the client and other advisers, to complete their tasks on time. A very impressive lawyer indeed.’

‘Waleed Rasromani had excellent knowledge of the capital market law and offered the most suitable advice on legal issues.’

Key clients

Advanced Petrochemical Company

SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company

Al Rajhi Holding Group Company

BRF Foods GmbH

Linde

Rifd Copper Company

Schlumberger Limited

Work highlights

  • Acted for a consortium of the existing minority shareholders in ACWA Power for the sale of a proportion of their shares to the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (the PIF) and two minority purchasers.
  • Advised the Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company (SAFCO) on the acquisition of shares in three agricultural nutrient companies from Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) in exchange for 59.4 million shares in SAFCO.
  • Advising Advanced Petrochemical Company on a joint venture with SK Gas to construct and operate a US$1.8bn propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene plants in Jubail.

Saudi Arabia > Projects and energy

Z&Co is noted for its expertise in handling large-scale hydro-power and petrochemicals projects across Saudi Arabia and the wider region. The team also advises lenders on joint ventures and financings.

Z&Co > Firm Profile

Z&Co. is a national Saudi law firm that is able to offer clients a unique full-service offering that covers regulatory; commercial in-house support; dispute resolution, and transactions practices that each combine deep local expertise with international commercial standards. Our local team combines former members of the judiciary, Sharia law experts, and both Saudi and internationally-qualified lawyers.

Our first aim is always to fully understand our clients’ business objectives for any matter we work on. We consider ourselves commercial advisers, delivering advice in the format and language that our busy clients demand.

Our partners located in Riyadh include Firm Chairman, Monaji Zamakhchary, Head of Transactions, Martin Creek, Co-Heads of Dispute Resolution, Sarah Gonem and H.E. Abdulatif AlHarthi, Head of Public Policy, Dr Yazid AlMasoud, and Head of Commercial Advisory, Jawahir AlSubaie.

Main Contacts

DepartmentNameEmailTelephone
Managing Partner Monaji Zamakhchary
Dispute Resolution and Regulatory Sarah Gonem
Transactions Martin Creek
Dispute Resolution and Regulatory Abdulatif AlHarthi

Lawyer Profiles

PhotoNamePositionProfile
Martin Creek photo Martin CreekPartner, Head of Transactions team advising on all aspects of Saudi corporate,…View Profile
Sarah Gonem photoMrs Sarah GonemSarah Gonem is a Partner at Z&Co., with her core practice in…View Profile
Monaji Zamakhchary photoMr Monaji ZamakhcharyPartner and Managing Director General Corporate Advisory: Advising: Deloitte on the structuring of…View Profile

Languages

Arabic
English

Diversity


We are a Saudi Arabian national law firm which fervently supports the development of our female employees across all levels to ensure that a healthy work/ life balance is possible. Most notably, we have introduced flexible working environments, launched a new sponsorship programme and actively promoted the advancement of our female lawyers.

Whilst we hire and retain purely on merit, our female associates significantly outnumber our male associates, particularly at the mid to senior associate level. Supporting and enabling our employees to pursue their legal careers is of paramount importance to our firm. As 50% of our female lawyers have children, this has led to us quickly embracing policies that support flexible working environments to ensure that our female associates are able to comfortably return to work after having children.

To support the development of our employees, we have adopted a flexible working environment which includes enabling our associates to work from home. Given the fact that several of our female associates have young children, the ability to work primarily from home allows for an effective work/ life balance which, importantly, has had no adverse impact on the firm’s productivity.

In light of global changes around the world, it is more significant than ever to provide innovative work/life programmes. We launched a new sponsorship programme in 2021 to enable our Saudi-qualified associates to become dual qualified in England. The first person chosen to commence that programme was one of our female corporate associates, and the next person who will commence the programme is one of our female regulatory associates, highlighting our commitment to supporting women to reach the pinnacle of their legal careers. Moreover, we have sponsored two of our litigators, both of whom are female, to obtain arbitration qualifications to advance their development in their legal careers.

Significantly, we are the only Saudi Arabian law firm operating in association with an international law firm to have a female Partner. This enables a more practical reflection at the leadership level of the mindset shifts required to support the advancement of female associates. The Partnership, as a whole, fully supports the implementation of flexible working arrangements that support the development of both the female and male associates in the firm.