Latham & Watkins has confirmed a tie-up with former White & Case Saudi sponsor Mohammed Al Sheikh that has led to a new Lathams office in Riyadh.
Al-Sheikh’s departure from White & Case was among four other senior-level defections from the firm’s Middle East operations in February, all to Latham & Watkins. At the time, Lathams declined to verify the appointments, but has now confirmed that Al Sheikh has aligned with the firm, taking with him projects partner Christopher Langdon and banking & finance associate Harjaskaran Rai. They will be accompanied by New York-based banking & project finance associate Salman Al Sudairi, a former White & Case lawyer, who is transferring to Riyadh.
The lawyers are operating in the same Al Tatweer Towers office as during the White & Case association. For Lathams it will mean a fourth branch in the Middle East, along with the Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices that were launched in 2008.
Al Sheikh’s appointment will also give the firm a stronger foothold in the local Islamic finance sector.
It is not the first time Lathams has built up a new office through lateral hires – in 2009 it confirmed the appointment of seven corporate partners defecting from Allen & Overy Hong Kong.
For some international firms in Saudi Arabia, cementing a sponsor has been a shaky business in the past – between 2008 and 2009, DLA Piper lost two Saudi sponsors, Abdul Aziz Al Bosaily and Abdulaziz Al Assaf, before linking up with Alaa Naji.
Although White & Case still lists a Riyadh presence on its website, no local lawyers are listed and it has not confirmed the search for a new sponsor.
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