Latham & Watkins has officially opened in Saudi Arabia, launching its fourth office in the Middle East.
The firm, which launched in the region in 2008 with offices in Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, raided White & Case for its Saudi launch (1 February 2010).
White & Case’s former sponsor Mohammed Al-Sheikh will become Latham’s sponsor and will be joined by partner Christopher Langdon and the majority of the associates from White & Case’s Riyadh office.
In addition, Salman Al-Sudairi, a US-trained Saudi banking lawyer who was instrumental in helping the firm devise its Middle East strategy, will relocate to the Riyadh office from New York, after a spell on secondment at a major investment bank (13 April 2009).
In a statement Latham chairman and managing partner Robert Dell said: “The Middle East is one of the most dynamic regions in the world economy and we remain committed to developing our presence in the region as a key focus of our global growth strategy.
“We expect to see continued inbound and outbound activity that demands sophisticated legal counsel and our presence in Riyadh will significantly bolster our regional capability.”
Readers' comments (12)
No(n)sense? | 27-Apr-2010 9:18 pm
Hey Anonymous | 9-Apr-2010 11:00 am,
I agree with you that there should not be any religious discrimination but I sensed that you have certainly never stepped your foot into Saudi soil.
The religious police's main duty in the kingdom is to scrutinize ladies, and demand or apprehand (with the police's help) ladies who do not wear headscarf, wear short skirts or shorts beneath their abayas, etc. Also, shops are forced to closed for prayers 5 times a day. Furthermore, churhes are banned in the Kingdom. Prey tell me, do these scenarios (there are many more incidences and these examples are only the tip of the iceberg!) fit your "no place for religious discrimination in saudi" statement?
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Anonymous | 2-May-2010 8:19 am
I think Latham is going to be the next Broebeck. They're growing too fast and some of their moves make no sense.
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