-- Nabil Issa, an Arabic speaker focusing on Islamic finance and
investment who has worked in both Riyadh and Dubai;
-- Patrick Campos, whose practice focuses on international project
development and finance and who has worked in both Riyadh and Dubai; and
-- Wael Wahbeh, a native Arabic speaker specializing in corporate and
private equity work who has worked in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Issa and Campos were both acclaimed as up-and-coming leaders in corporate
and commercial law among lawyers in the UAE in the 2007 edition of Chambers
Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business.
"We believe King & Spalding's commitment to relocating key partners to the
region combined with the experience and deep local knowledge of Issa,
Campos and Wahbeh will provide our clients with world-class support for
their transactions and disputes in the region," said Hays.
These three new associates join partner Philip Weems, the leader of King &
Spalding's international energy practice, who has relocated from Houston to
serve as managing partner of the Dubai office. Weems has extensive
experience working in the Middle East and lived in Asia for more than 10
years. Weems has for several years been ranked a leading energy lawyer by
Chambers Global, Petroleum Economist and Euromoney, and he recently served
as President of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.
Jawad Ali, a partner in the firm's Islamic finance and investment practice,
will relocate to Dubai from London, and Benjamin Newland, a partner in the
firm's private equity practice, will relocate from Atlanta to Dubai. Ali
has lived and practiced in the Gulf region and has an active practice
currently focusing on Middle Eastern clients. Newland focuses on strategic
corporate transactions, with an emphasis on Middle Eastern clients. Partner
Isam Salah, leader of the firm's Islamic finance and investment practice,
will maintain offices in both Dubai and New York, where he is currently
located.
The highest concentration of King & Spalding's clients outside the United
States is in the Arabian Gulf and the level of work for those clients has
grown dramatically over the past decade. The firm was named the top
Islamic finance legal advisor by Euromoney in 2004, largely based on the
pioneering Islamic finance, private equity and real estate work the firm
has done for those clients in the United States and Europe. Many of those
same clients are now calling on the firm to provide its expertise on
similar transactions within the Middle East. The firm's energy
practitioners also have extensive experience in the Middle East, having
handled numerous projects in the region, and their ability to serve clients
based or operating in the Middle East will be substantially enhanced by
this expansion. The firm's arbitration and capital markets practices also
stand to benefit greatly from the firm's presence in the region, due to the
presence of a regional arbitration venue and the Dubai International
Financial Exchange in the DIFC.
"King & Spalding has long been a leader in energy projects, international
energy arbitration and oil and gas litigation, and establishing a physical
presence in the Middle East is the next logical step in meeting the
significant demand for our energy expertise," said Weems. "Our unique
experience in LNG, gas, power, petrochemical and renewable energy projects
is particularly relevant to the region. The number of energy,
infrastructure and industrial projects that are underway or planned in the
Gulf region and nearby is unprecedented, and we look forward to helping
serve clients who are involved in them."
"We are very excited about the prospects for King & Spalding's presence in
the Middle East," said Salah. "Our Dubai office will allow us to grow our
representation of Middle East clients investing in the United States and
Europe, assist Middle East clients with investments within the region and
expand our work for U.S. corporations with interests in the Middle East.
This is a burgeoning region with much promise for our firm."
About King & Spalding
King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in
Atlanta, Dubai, Houston, London, New York and Washington, D.C. The firm
represents half of the Fortune 100, and in a Corporate Counsel survey in
August 2006 was ranked one of the top ten firms representing Fortune 250
companies overall. For additional information, visit http://www.kslaw.com.
Contact Information: Contact: Jessica Schnack King & Spalding ph (212) 556-2226 Email Contact