Simmons & Simmons Middle East LLP

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Owen advises clients on complex contracts, transactions and projects in the technology, digital and data space. Owen has specialist expertise navigating cross-border data matters involving emerging data privacy, cybersecurity and cloud computing regulations, and he has successfully led several market-leading organisations in regulated sectors with strategic compliance projects in this domain. He is also a regular author and contributor on data privacy matters for renowned publications such as DataGuidance and Thomson Reuters.

Payam is a partner in the Middle East, specialised in complex disputes, with a focus on the financial services sector, contentious regulatory matters and investigations. He represents clients before the Courts of England and Wales, the DIFC Courts, the ADGM Courts, regulatory bodies as well as in arbitrations. In addition, Payam sits as an arbitrator and advises clients on anti-bribery and corruption matters, cyber-crime, data protection and privacy laws.

James is a partner based in our Dubai office and is the Head of the firm’s Corporate and Commercial Practice Group in the Middle East. He specialises in private mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate reorganisations, investment fund establishment and related financial regulation. His clients include private equity funds, investment managers, sovereign wealth funds, corporates, financial institutions and state-owned enterprises. James has been based in the MENA region for over twelve years. He is fluent in English and German.

Sami Ben Dechiche

Sami is a Managing Associate in our Corporate & Commercial team based in Dubai. Sami is a New York Bar qualified lawyer with over nine years' experience in investment funds spent in Europe and the Middle East. Sami advises on fund structuring, including the drafting of funds relevant documentation such as private placement memoranda and limited partnership agreements, as well as on investments by private and institutional investors into regulated investment structures. Prior to joining the firm, Sami supported the investment funds practices at Magic Circle law firms in Luxembourg and Dubai.

Nina is a Managing Associate in the firm’s Middle East financial markets and financial services regulatory practices. She has experience advising leading asset managers on the provision of cross-border financial services across the GCC as well as advising on general DIFC regulatory matters. Nina is also part of the firm’s FinTech practice and advises on the application of the regulatory framework in the nascent FinTech space. Nina’s previous experience includes advising on a range of transactional and behavioural antitrust cases. This includes advising on multi-jurisdictional merger control requirements in global merger and acquisition transactions and antitrust investigations by the European Commission and the UK regulator. Nina also assisted in advising on transactions and regulatory requirements in the areas of debt capital markets and structured finance. She previously worked in London and Hong Kong. Most recently Nina spent a year on secondment at an international payment services provider in London advising on a range of regulatory and antitrust matters. In particular, she advised different lines of business on their compliance with payment services regulation.

Alexandra Harmer

Alex is a Middle East-based Managing Associate and part of the international Digital Business team. She has a strong background in advising on matters of IP laws with experience of leading strategic, commercial and transactional IP projects. Her international expertise covers the full life cycle of IP assets both as standalone projects and as part of corporate transactions. She acts for clients across a range of IP-rich heavily regulated industries, most notably in the TMT and Healthcare & Life Sciences sectors, including in respect of consumer-facing products and services, and a wide variety of complex commercial contracts. She is a “go to” advisor for leading international pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare businesses across the Middle East region, including in particular the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where she has counselled clients across a variety of risk areas. She has enhanced her industry knowledge of the Healthcare and Life Sciences sector through client secondments at two large global pharmaceutical companies (AstraZeneca and GSK). Her work across the TMT sector covers a wide range of commercial and regulatory projects including for large telecoms operators and media / digital platform businesses as well as both technology vendors and enterprise customers for emerging technology solutions. Alex also brings together her sector expertise across the TMT and Healthcare & Life Sciences sector on digital health projects. Prior to joining Simmons & Simmons, Alex qualified at a magic circle law firm and has worked at a specialist IP law firm, spending 10 years practising in London before moving to the UAE.

Lee is a partner in the Financial Markets group in our Dubai office. He has extensive experience in advising financial institutions and public and private companies on all aspects of conventional and Islamic debt capital markets, equity capital markets and liability management.

Muneer is the firm’s Middle East Regional Head. He also heads the firm’s award-winning Middle East financial markets and financial services regulatory practices, in addition to our international Islamic finance practice. He specialises in financial services regulatory matters and advises both regional and international financial institutions and asset management groups on a wide range of regulatory, investigatory, and transactional matters. In particular, he guides clients on how to navigate complex cross-border regulatory issues relating to the provision of financial services, including structuring and licensing issues, across the Middle East. Muneer has significant experience and recognised expertise in structuring a wide range of complex and innovative funds, financial products, platforms, and services, including in the areas of FinTech and digital assets. He has also advised a number of governments and national regulators on major regulatory reform initiatives. Muneer is a member of the firm's Accelerate Digital group, focused on guiding clients through digital transformation.

David leads the firm’s Middle East employment practice and has been based in Dubai for a decade. David advises on all aspects of the employment relationship and he is an expert in managing employee risk with a particular focus on the United Arab Emirates and Qatar markets. He has a deep background in employment disputes, workplace investigations and disciplinary matters and he regularly guides clients through these complex and sensitive situations. However, David also has considerable experience with advising clients on non-contentious work such as employment contract and handbook/policy drafting, executive level appointments and terminations.

Matthias is a Supervising Associate in our Middle East financial markets and financial services regulatory practices. He has a broad experience advising a variety of financial institutions on DIFC, ADGM and “Onshore UAE” regulatory issues, including banking, market infrastructure and payments related matters. Given the growth of the region's virtual asset sector, he has also assisted a range of virtual asset service providers, such as exchanges, brokers and wallet providers, with navigating the complex virtual asset regulatory space in the UAE and across the GCC. Matthias previously worked in London where he specialised in US, EU and UK sanctions compliance, particularly in relation to Russia and Belarus. He also has a background in EU and UK financial services regulation and completed a six-month secondment with Deutsche Bank’s debt capital markets team.

Vishal is a supervising associate in the Digital Business team at Simmons & Simmons in London. He advises clients across a range of sectors with a focus on Technology, Media and Telecoms. He has a range of experience on outsourcing and services contracts, e-commerce and consumer law, technology regulatory and data protection matters. Vishal also co-leads the firm’s Gaming and Immersive Technology (GAIT) group which focuses on the Metaverse and video gaming. Since joining Simmons & Simmons in 2017, he has completed client secondments to Monzo Bank and WeWork.

Tom is a leading specialist in the hedge, hybrid and co-investment funds spaces, having worked at Simmons & Simmons for over 10 years, and advises many of the largest and well-known managers around the world on the set-up, maintenance and reorganisation of their funds and managed accounts across a range of jurisdictions and corporate structures, including companies, SPCs, limited partnerships and unit trusts. Tom has worked at the cutting edge of some of the recent legal trends for open-ended funds, including hybrid funds, co-investment platforms, seed deals and revenue sharing arrangements, digital assets, pass-through models and capital commitment structures. In addition to his work with established managers, Tom equally works with a number of start-up clients and was involved in the launch of several significant launches over the past few years and also subsequent work, including negotiating seed deals, launches of second funds and restructurings. He also regularly advises clients on a range of UK and European regulatory issues. Alongside his work for managers, Tom also advises a number of significant investors in hedge funds, meaning he has a unique perspective on both the legal and commercial expectations of managers and investors. Tom is recognised for combining technical excellence with commercial pragmatism and a great knowledge of the market, which allows him to provide key thought leadership, such as hosting Simmons & Simmons' monthly Hedge Fund Vista webinar. Tom has spent over a year on secondment at two international hedge fund clients and he has also worked internationally, spending six months at firm's Hong Kong office and also working for three months in the New York offices of Seward & Kissel, Simmons & Simmons' alliance firm.

Raza leads a team that advises businesses that are rich in Data, Tech, and IP and often subject to complex regulation. He leads our Middle East sector initiatives concerning TMT, FinTech, and Healthcare and Life Sciences, and is a trusted advisor to many of the biggest names in these industries. Raza has particular expertise around the legal, regulatory, and policy impact of emerging tech and sector convergence through “first of their kind” projects. His core practice includes advising on complex commercial arrangements, data rights and obligations (as a Certified Information Privacy Professional), sector-specific regulation, competition laws, and the commercialisation of intangible assets. As our Middle East TMT lead, Raza has advised numerous Telcos (including China Telecom, du, Etisalat, MTN, OneWeb, Ooredoo, Safaricom, VEON) on projects concerning networks and services. He is also immersed in the FinTech space advising Financial Institutions (including American Express, BlackRock, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Qatar Islamic Bank, UAE Banks Federation) on a host of innovative projects, particularly in the payments sub-sector. Another area of deep focus for Raza is advising pharma, medical device, and healthcare businesses (including Astellas, Bayer, Becton Dickinson, Celgene, GSK, Houston Methodist, Wright Medical). Raza often brings together his TMT and Healthcare sector understanding to work on digital health projects across the Middle East and Africa. Raza’s deep industry knowledge has been enhanced through senior-level client secondments (including into GSK as acting regional general counsel and into the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s R&D programme as lead counsel). Raza is a member of the firm's Accelerate Digital group, focused on guiding clients through digital transformation.

Jas is a Supervising Associate within the Digital Business team at Simmons & Simmons, based in the UAE. His expertise lies in advising on technology, media, and telecoms matters, where he provides comprehensive legal solutions to a broad range of clients from well-established institutions to dynamic, fast-growth enterprises. Jas is also experienced in handling a variety of IT, data and technology agreements and leading on digital transformation projects. Jas has a particular interest in emerging and disruptive technologies and is well immersed in the digital assets, artificial intelligence and connected and autonomous vehicles space. In the FinTech space, Jas is experienced in advising on cutting-edge projects, especially within the payments and digital banking sub-sectors. He has also managed a number of client secondments and collaborates with clients to maximise their contractual relationships, whilst also identifying and mitigating risks appropriately.

Leah Weldon-Evans

Leah Weldon-Evans practices in our Financial Markets team based in Dubai. Having been in the region for over a decade, she has extensive expertise in debt capital markets and Islamic finance. Leah has a deep understanding of AAOIFI standards and Higher Shari'ah Authority requirements. She is a market-leader for sukuk structuring solutions. Her vast industry experience includes advising on conventional and Islamic debt capital markets, regulatory capital transactions and liability management exercises for sovereigns, government-related entities, supranationals, public and private companies and financial institutions. Prior to joining Simmons & Simmons, Leah worked in one of the world's largest international financial institutions, as the lead lawyer for sukuk and regional debt capital markets.

Adam Wolstenholme

Adam specialises in advising clients on complex international, cross-border and sensitive areas of law, with a particular emphasis on financial services regulatory matters. His expertise spans both TradFi and DeFi, and he acts in both non-contentious and contentious instructions. He has gained a strong background in the local and regional framework and practicalities that are vital to understanding the international and domestic sensitivities in the Middle East. He provides current and pragmatic advice on the region's nascent regulations. His client base includes a number of the largest international financial institutions, global asset managers and hedge funds, virtual asset service providers, brokerage entities and payment providers. Consequently, he has extensive experience in liaising with the region's financial regulators and securities exchanges, including on advising on regulations issued by the UAE Central Bank, the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority/Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and the Saudi Capital Markets Authority (Saudi CMA). Adam possesses particular experience advising on crypto regulatory frameworks across the GCC, and has advised some of the world's largest crypto market participants. Striving to stay at the forefront of the constantly emerging digital assets industry, he is trusted to advise on the set up of crypto exchanges, clearing houses, custodians, broker-dealers, managers and funds, as well as a broad range of crypto-related products, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, utility tokens, NFTs, crypto derivatives and SAFTs. Prior to working in the Middle East, he was a barrister in London where his practice entailed both defence and prosecution work, with a special emphasis on financial crime and regulatory matters, including advisory and representation instructions on the proceeds of crime, money laundering, bribery and extradition. During his work at the self-employed bar, he was also seconded to the Financial Conduct Authority in London, whereby he was able to amass practical experience of complex regulatory investigations.