Morgan Lewis Deepens Middle East Presence with Riyadh Office Launch
Bolstering its longstanding investment in the Middle East, Morgan Lewis opens an office in Riyadh, reinforcing its commitment to an on-the-ground presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and bringing added power to its delivery of integrated, full-service counsel aligned with the region’s evolving legal and business needs.
The Riyadh office launches with a full team that includes six top-tier practitioners. M&A and capital market partners Dr Sultan Almasoud and Sanjarbek Abdukhalilov arrive from A&O Shearman, and seasoned Saudi dispute resolution lawyer Saeed Alqahtani recently joined as of counsel from Al Tamimi & Company. Dr Almasoud will serve as Managing Partner of the Riyadh office and lead the Saudi practice.
The Riyadh team will be supported by preeminent Morgan Lewis lawyers, including finance partner Sourabh Bhattacharya and Saudi veteran practitioners Sara K Aranjo, head of the firm’s dispute resolution and international arbitration practice across the Middle East and Africa regions, and Ayman A Khaleq, who co-leads the Middle East practice.
“Saudi Arabia has long been a vital part of our firm’s global practice, and our physical presence in Riyadh reflects a deepened investment in the country, its people and its future,” said Firm Chair Jami McKeon. “This is not a new market for us – it’s a continuation of decades of trusted client relationships.”
“Our Riyadh office represents a significant extension of our firm’s longstanding commitment in Saudi Arabia and the broader region,” said Firm Managing Partner Steven Wall. “Our opening in Riyadh will uplift existing relationships and forge new ones – further honing our ability to tactically deliver solutions that are locally attuned and globally informed. With deep market insight and the full breadth of our international platform, our team is equipped to help clients confront and overcome complexity, and be dexterous amid evolutions in the Kingdom’s legal, regulatory, cultural and commercial landscape.”
With more than four decades advising clients in the Middle East and over a decade of an established regional footprint, Morgan Lewis is one of the few global firms with offices in all three major Gulf hubs: Dubai, Abu Dhabi and now Riyadh.
Drawing on the resources and talents of Morgan Lewis’s global platform, the Riyadh office will strengthen and complement the firm’s advice to institutional investors – including sovereign wealth funds and state-owned entities, asset managers, family offices and multinational corporations on cross-border transactions, financings and disputes – while deepening relationships with Saudi-based clients across fast-evolving sectors including digital infrastructure, energy, funds, aviation and emerging technologies, such as AI.
