Clifford Chance seals new Saudi association amid local licence investigation
CC enters into partnership with newly established local firm Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani
August 22, 2016 at 09:35 AM
3 minute read
Clifford Chance (CC) has formed a new association in Saudi Arabia, as it awaits the outcome of an investigation into its previous licensing arrangements in the region.
The deal sees CC team up with new firm Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani (AS&H), which will be led by Fahad Abuhimed who has joined from the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Investment, where he was a deputy minister.
Abuhimed, who previously worked at CC's former associated firm in the region, Al-Jadaan, and spent a year on secondment at CC, has launched AS&H with two former CC senior associates in Riyadh: Majid Al-Sheikh and Mansoor Al-Hagbani. All three will be partners in the new firm.
The trio will work closely with CC partners Khalid Al-Abdulkareem, Omar Rashid and Mohamed Hamra-Krouha, along with the firm's internationally-qualified foreign lawyers based in Riyadh, meaning that between them CC and AS&H will have six partners in the region.
The Saudi lawyers and business services staff currently employed by CC in Riyadh will move to AS&H.
CC Middle East managing partner Robin Abraham said: "We believe our new association with AS&H will build on our existing position as Clifford Chance to provide the depth and range of specialist capabilities that will be critical to our Saudi and international clients during this period of change."
The addition of Abuhimed means the firm will be able to offer clients support across legislative drafting, regulatory, public policy and dispute resolution legal services.
The new association will officially launch on 1 November this year and replaces CC's existing operations in the region. CC ended its association with Al-Jadaan in 2013 but became the first international law firm to set up a mixed local and foreign law firm partnership in 2014, taking on transactional teams from Al-Jadaan.
It is currently awaiting the outcome of a long-running case looking into how its licence was granted in 2013 by the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Investment (MoCI). A former associate at Al-Jadaan claimed that MoCI had acted unlawfully in licensing CC under the Professional Companies Regulations.
The court case returned from the Court of Appeal to the lower court in May for a complete rehearing.
The Court of Appeal gave an advisory, non-binding opinion of its view of the law. It suggested all foreign Saudi-owned professional companies should be licensed by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, in addition to MoCI.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Dentons Australian Chair Doug Stipanicev Back At Work After Investigation
4 minute read
A&O Shearman Luminary, Former US Co-Chair, to Leave Partnership
Mayer Brown’s Hong Kong Split to Take Effect in the Coming Week
Trending Stories
- 1Judge Denies Sean Combs Third Bail Bid, Citing Community Safety
- 2Republican FTC Commissioner: 'The Time for Rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC Is Over'
- 3NY Appellate Panel Cites Student's Disciplinary History While Sending Negligence Claim Against School District to Trial
- 4A Meta DIG and Its Nvidia Implications
- 5Deception or Coercion? California Supreme Court Grants Review in Jailhouse Confession Case
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
