Abu Dhabi
Latham & Watkins' Middle East practice, operating from the firm's Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha offices, represents companies located in or doing business in the Middle East and North Africa.
Launching its practice in the Middle East region in 2008, the firm's primary focus in this region is on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, investment funds, project development and finance, structured finance, leveraged finance, corporate finance and capital markets. Staffed with Arabic-, French- and English-speaking, internationally qualified lawyers, Latham & Watkins' Middle East attorneys combine local expertise and knowledge of the region with the firm's international network and experience to provide comprehensive services to clients with interests in the Middle East and North Africa.
Practice Areas
Latham & Watkins represents some of the most active strategic and financial dealmakers in the Middle East. We represent clients in the Middle East on both regional cross-border transactions as well as out-bound investment work and have extensive experience structuring M&A deals regionally. Additionally, our comprehensive experience in all aspects of private equity investment in the Middle East enables us to service the full array of legal needs of fund sponsors and investors alike, from fund formation to investment acquisition, structuring, financing and disposition. We regularly advise clients on the formation and structuring of a wide variety of Shari'ah-compliant and conventional private investment funds.
The firm has a leading project finance practice and has developed a reputation for being a "go-to" firm for oil and gas finance deals based in the Middle East. In 2007, Latham & Watkins' finance team was awarded the "Project Finance Team of the Year" title by Legal Business, in large part due to the firm's work on the groundbreaking Nakilat liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship financing in the State of Qatar, the largest ship financing ever completed. The firm has also handled numerous energy projects in the Middle East. In addition to energy projects, Latham has advised on project financing deals in the Middle East involving the telecommunications industry.
Latham & Watkins also features a highly regarded corporate finance practice. The firm's corporate finance lawyers practicing in the Middle East have represented corporate and partnership issuers, underwriters, placement agents and initial purchasers in offerings of equity, debt and asset-backed securities in markets around the world, including in the United States. Our Middle East corporate finance practice represents a broad range of clients, from emerging companies to major multinational corporations in virtually every industry, as well as major investment and commercial banks as underwriters or initial purchasers. In addition, we have extensive experience with structured financings for Middle East clients involving a full array of traditional and newer assets.