London-based Bird & Bird is set to grow its Middle East presence with a Riyadh office launch within this year in an expansion coming at a time of Saudi Arabia’s significant activity and trade flow with China and Singapore, the UK firm says.
Anders Nilsson, managing partner of Bird & Bird Middle East based in Abu Dhabi, will lead the Riyadh office while working alongside resident partners Raya Alkhatib, Nick O’Connell and Simon Shooter with support from a team of three Saudi associate lawyers.
Nilsson, a corporate and M&A partner, told Asia Business Law Journal that his firm saw an exciting opportunity in Saudi Arabia in terms of technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) and data, as well as intellectual property, which was part of its initial focus.
“We see a huge demand in the market in these areas (TMT, data, IP), especially when technology is underpinning the transition from an oil-based economy to other areas in the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council),” said Nilsson.
The GCC, headquartered in Riyadh, is a political and economic alliance of six Middle Eastern countries consisting of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
Besides those areas of huge demand, Nilsson pointed to significant activity and trade flow between China and Saudi Arabia and between Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
Bird & Bird currently runs a Greater China office network with branches in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. The UK firm also operates in Singapore through an association with a local firm under the name Bird & Bird ATMD, as well as offices in Tokyo and Sydney.
The scheduled Riyadh office launch comes amid closer ties between Singapore and Saudi Arabia with the recent elevation of both countries’ relations to a strategic partnership, which has been marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the Saudi-Singapore Strategic Partnership Council.
Concurrently, China and Saudi Arabia have also moved to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership, with China having issued its first sovereign bond in the Middle East in Saudi Arabia last year.
At the new Riyadh office, which is Bird & Bird’s third Middle East branch, Alkhatib will lead the corporate practice. Admitted to the Saudi Bar Association, Alkhatib specialises in advising on corporate matters from M&A, formation of companies to initial public offering transactions and real estate investments. Before joining Bird & Bird, the corporate partner was general counsel at American Express Saudi Arabia.
Alkhatib will work alongside O’Connell, a partner in the technology and communications as well as data privacy and protection fields, who previously served as a partner heading TMT as well as digital and data at Al Tamimi & Company in the UAE.
Shooter, a partner heading Bird & Bird’s international commercial group who also established the firm’s cybersecurity team, will also be a core member of the Riyadh office’s partner bench with his 18-plus years of practice at the firm.
“The office’s focus on technology, IP as well as transactional and general corporate advice plays to our international reputation and the client demand we are seeing in the market,” said Nilsson, who will continue to be based in the UAE while serving as the head of the region.
Nilsson added that Alkhatib specifically helped attract foreign investment into the kingdom by helping businesses set up their operations, as well as advising on structural considerations such as the regional headquarters programme and keeping them informed of the latest regulations.
Bird & Bird first ventured into the Middle East with an office in Abu Dhabi in 2011 due to client demand in major commercial and corporate projects as well as in IP. With growing interest in the region shown by its international client base, the firm launched in Dubai in 2013.
