K&L Gates

United Arab Emirates

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Zaid Abu-Shattal

Zaid Abu-Shattal is a senior associate and a member of the Corporate team with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, and general corporate and commercial advice. Zaid has experience in corporate restructuring, M&A, asset management and investment funds, and financial services, and provides general corporate and commercial advice. He regularly advises new and existing clients in respect of their operations in the UAE and changes to their corporate structures. Zaid was also part of the team that represented two different clients on their proposed public listing in the UAE. He is the main day-to-day point of contact for a number of multinational clients of the firm. Clients appreciate his responsiveness, approachability, and will-do attitude.

Farah Al-Nabulsi

Farah is a partner in the Corporate practice and Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) practice group, and heads the United Arab Emirates Corporate practice. Farah has over 14 years' experience in the MENA region, and she regularly advises regional, international, and multinationals corporations on domestic and cross-border M&A, joint ventures, market entry, corporate restructurings, and general corporate matters. She also provides clients with commercial, advisory, and regulatory advice. Farah is qualified in England and Wales, and in Jordan. She is bilingual in English and Arabic and has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating transaction documents in both languages.

Nazanin Aleyaseen

Nazanin Aleyaseen is a partner in the arbitration team and has served as counsel or arbitrator in complex commercial proceedings before the ICC, LCIA, DIFC, DIAC, and ADCCAC and as an advocate in the DIFC Courts. Nazanin is the founding member of the internal investigations and employment practice in the Middle East and has conducted internal investigations into allegations of fraud and misconduct. She has advised multinational corporations with operations in the MENA region for over a decade in a wide range of industries including entertainment, oil and gas, construction, health care, and manufacturing and she has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the UAE by Chambers Global and The Legal 500. Nazanin is a member of the prestigious American Employment Law Counsel (AELC) making her one of the few AELC members to practice law outside the United States. Nazanin joined K&L Gates in 2012 and sits on the firm's global associate development committee, Women in the Profession Committee, the diversity committee and the pro bono committee.

Pakinam El Badrawi

Pakinam El Badrawi is an associate at the firm and a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions practice group. She is an English qualified solicitor and a licensed legal consultant in the UAE. Her practice covers corporate and commercial matters in the Middle East, particularly in the transportation and logistics, energy, and financial services sectors. Prior to joining the firm, Pakinam was an associate at an international London-based law firm in Dubai, where she practiced as lead associate on various mergers and acquisition deals and complex commercial projects for buyers and sellers under English and UAE law. Pakinam’s experience includes conducting due diligence, drafting reports, reviewing and amending various agreements including share purchase, disclosure letters and warranties and negotiating with the counter party up to and including completion. She is also well-versed on advising on capacity and enforceability of various contracts and securities over movable assets. Pakinam also has experience in advising clients on shareholder disputes and has supported various debt collection and commercial litigation matters. In addition to the above, she reviews various commercial contracts, including services, marine support services and consultancy, intellectual property, joint venture, and sale and purchase agreements from both a UAE and UK law perspective. Pakinam also regularly advises clients on their day-to-day corporate governance and employment matters, including transfers of shares, filing requirements, changes of directors/managers, among others, as well as employment contracts, HR manuals, and contentious termination of employment matters both onshore the UAE and in free zones.

Jennifer Paterson

Jennifer Paterson is a partner in the International Arbitration and Litigation and Dispute Resolution teams of the firm's Dubai office, based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Jennifer regularly advises and represents both regional and international clients in a wide range of commercial disputes. She has experience representing clients in local and international arbitration proceedings administered many of the major arbitration centers, including the ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, DIAC, and ADCCAC, as well as ad hoc proceedings. Jennifer has full rights of audience before the DIFC Courts and the Courts of England and Wales. She also works closely with local counsel in respect of litigation pending before the UAE Courts. Jennifer has been instructed as trial counsel in a broad range of contested matters, including complex commercial contracts, oil and gas, construction, real estate, insurance and employment disputes. In addition to being able to navigate complex disputes in a variety of local and international forums, Jennifer counsels clients on a range of compliance issues and internal investigations. She is recognized by The Legal 500 EMEA in Dispute Resolution: Arbitration and International Litigation and by The Legal 500 Arbitration Powerlist Middle East 2023 for Private Practice Arbitration.

Mohammad Rwashdeh

Mohammad Rwashdeh is special counsel in the dispute resolution team of the firm's Dubai office, based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Mohammad regularly advises and represents both UAE-based and international clients in a wide range of commercial, intellectual property, civil and criminal disputes. Mohammad has full rights of audience before the Courts of Jordan. He is also licensed as a legal consultant by the Dubai Department of Legal Affairs and works closely with local counsel in respect of litigation pending before the UAE Courts. Mohammad has been instructed as lawyer and counsel in a broad range of contentious and non-contentious matters, including complex commercial contracts, arbitration, corporate, insolvency, anti-corruption, intellectual property, construction, real estate, sharia law, education and training, insurance, data privacy law and employment. Mohammad has experience in arbitration and enforcing local UAE judgments and arbitration awards overseas, as well as enforcing international and foreign judgments and arbitration awards in the UAE and Jordan. In addition, Mohammad has experience in legislation, policy, compliance, investigations and due diligence matters.

Jonathan Sutcliffe

Jonathan Sutcliffe is a partner in the firm's Dubai office where he is a member of the international arbitration practice group. Jonathan has significant experience in international arbitration and dispute resolution and has acted for numerous clients on a diverse range of international commercial arbitration, ADR, and litigation matters in the energy, construction, hospitality, real estate, defence, insurance, international joint venture, and film sectors, and on investor-state disputes. Jonathan is a member of the firm’s hydrogen group. Jonathan also sits regularly as an arbitrator, including under the rules of arbitration of the ICC, DIFC-LCIA, DIAC, and ADCCAC, and in ad hoc arbitrations. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Jonathan is qualified in England and Wales, and New York and is registered as an advocate in the DIFC Courts.