| Through its associated law firm Al-Yaqoub Attorneys & Legal Advisers (AYALA), Lovells has expanded its presence in Saudi Arabia. To complement its existing office in Riyadh, AYALA recently opened an office in Jeddah, and the UK firm – one of the few international law firms to have a presence in these two major Saudi Arabian cities – hopes that the new office will provide it with a strong competitive platform to service Saudi clients and develop new working relationships in what is the largest market in the Middle East.
AYALA is headed by Saudi-qualified lawyer Montasir Al-Mohammed, who for more than a decade was head of legal services at Andersen Legal and Ernst & Young in Saudi Arabia. Lovells is represented in the jurisdiction by lawyer Mustafa Kamal, in the Jeddah office, and Imran Mufti in Riyadh. Crispin Rapinet, the firm’s regional managing partner for Asia and the Middle East, commented on the expansion, “Jeddah has historically been the commercial centre – many of Saudi’s largest corporations are headquartered there – and Riyadh the capital and banking hub. As one of the few international firms to have offices in both, we are significantly well-placed to take advantage of the key economic activity in both Eastern and Western Saudi Arabia.” Lovells already has an office in Dubai which it opened in May 2007, from where it has developed a client base which includes many Saudi-based parties. |
