Abdullah A. Alsaeed

Partner

Riyadh
abdullah.alsaeed@lw.com
+966.11.207.2518

PRACTICES

  • Bankruptcy Litigation & Creditors' Rights
  • Complex Commercial Litigation
  • Corporate Governance
  • Financial Regulatory
  • Healthcare Regulatory
  • International Arbitration
  • Litigation & Trial
  • Restructuring & Special Situations
  • Saudi Arabia Practice
  • White Collar Defense & Investigations

INDUSTRIES

  • Aerospace, Defense & Government Services
  • Energy & Infrastructure
  • Entertainment, Sports & Media
  • Financial Institutions

BAR QUALIFICATIONS

  • Saudi Arabia

EDUCATION

  • Master of Science in Banking and Financial Services Management, Boston University, 2016
  • LL.M., University of Southern California, 2014
  • LL.B., Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, 2011

LANGUAGES SPOKEN

  • Arabic
  • English

PROFILE

Abdullah Alsaeed represents Saudi and international clients in a range of commercial disputes and enforcement actions, and he advises government clients on significant regulatory projects.

Abdullah draws on his knowledge of Shari’ah law and Saudi laws and regulations, his bilingual fluency, and his ability to translate between the Saudi and international contexts to help clients minimize risk and succeed in Saudi Arabia. He assembles and leads teams of experts from across the firm’s global platform to advise on sophisticated regulatory and commercial litigation matters

Abdullah regularly represents or advises clients on:

  • Litigation, including commercial disputes, securities and bankruptcy litigation, and white collar investigations, before Saudi regulators and judiciary bodies
  • Regulatory projects, including drafting and updating laws and regulations
  • Governance matters for government and government-owned entities, including advice on internal policies, procedures, and charters, as well as regulatory due diligence 

Abdullah complements his commercial work with an active pro bono practice, advising Saudi non-profits on organizational matters.

He formerly taught Islamic jurisprudence and law at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University.

EXPERIENCE

Abdullah’s representative experience** includes advising:

Regulatory

  • The Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI) on drafting the Cooperative Health Insurance Law and its internal regulations
  • The Ministry of Sports on drafting various sports regulations
  • NCP on various PPP projects
  • Saudi Port Authority (Mawani) on the negotiation of three new container terminal concessions (BOT) for Jeddah Islamic Port and King Abdulaziz Port, Dammam
  • The Saudi Arabia Capital Markets Authority on various regulations, including drafting Mergers & Acquisitions Regulations 
  • A government transportation authority on updating major sector regulations, including drafting the Public Roads Regulations
  • The Local Content and Government Procurement Authority on drafting the Local Content and SMEs Rules
  • The Ministry of Investment on drafting the Investment Law 
  • Several authorities, including the King Salman Park Foundation, the Sports Boulevard Foundation, and others on drafting bylaws
  • Government entities regarding several regulatory reform projects, resulting in new regulatory frameworks and legislation

Disputes, Restructuring, and White Collar Investigations

  • The Creditors Committee in relation to the financial restructuring procedure for Ahmad Hamad Al-Gosaibi & Bros. Company and its general partners under the Insolvency Law, which at SAR32 billion (US$8.3 billion) is the second-largest debt restructuring in the MENA region
  • Al-Rajhi Bank — the largest Islamic bank in the world — as creditor, in connection with the debt restructuring of Hidada Contracting Co. Ltd — a leading construction company in Saudi Arabia — pursuant to the Saudi Bankruptcy Law
  • The Creditors Committee on the financial restructuring of Balsharaf
  • A Saudi listed company in the commercial court in connection with the company’s ownership rights in its subsidiary
  • A US public company in relation to a dispute concerning a representation in a huge government project in Saudi Arabia
  • A Saudi financial institution in relation to numerous disputes concerning margin loan transactions
  • A listed petrochemicals company in a number of commercial and administrative disputes and corporate governance litigations against the board of a subsidiary in commercial court
  • A company specializing in maintaining and operating airplanes in a dispute with a contractor
  • A multi-billion-dollar investment company in Saudi Arabia in an arbitration with a consultant
  • A Saudi public company in relation to a dispute concerning its trademark
  • A US public company in relation to a Serious Fraud Office investigation in Saudi Arabia
  • A company in a market manipulation case
  • Several multinational life sciences companies in support of internal and government-facing anti-corruption investigations
  • A number of Saudi listed companies in support of government facing anti-corruption investigations

**Firm experience prior to April 2023 includes work completed both at Latham and the Law Firm of Salman M. Al-Sudairi.