Al Tamimi & Company reinforces regional footprint with promotion of eight lawyers to the partnership

Al Tamimi & Company, the largest law firm in the Middle East, has announced the promotion of eight new partners. This latest development takes the total number of partners at the firm to 76.

Dr. Ahmed Basrawi (Litigation, Jeddah), Ali Bachrouch (Corporate Structuring, Sharjah), Ahmad Ghoneim (Litigation, Abu Dhabi), Alex Ghazi (Corporate, Abu Dhabi), Mark Brown (Banking & Finance, Dubai), Roy Georgiades (Litigation, Qatar office in association with Adv. Mohammed S. Al Marri Advocates & Legal Consultants, Steve Bainbridge, (Corporate, Dubai) and Taiba Alsafar (Litigation, Dubai), will all join the partnership effective 1st of July 2019.

Dr. Ahmed Basrawi, Litigation, Jeddah: Dr. Basrawi has more than 16 years of legal experience and has been involved in drafting regulation, restructuring and privatization projects in KSA.  He also has experience in establishing Saudi Arabian, GCC and international companies (through SAGIA) and the drafting of commercial contracts and advice memoranda and has advised clients on a wide range of property and corporate commercial matters from due diligence through project execution. Dr. Basrawi was also a lecturer in Litigation and Commercial Law at the University of Jeddah.

Ali Bachrouch, Corporate Structuring, Sharjah: Ali currently leads the Corporate Structuring team in Northern Emirates, UAE. He joined the firm in 2007. He has for many years practiced and published in the field of Business Law, IT, Environment, Healthcare, Energy, Contracting and Natural Resources, with focus on drafting and negotiating contracts and other legal documents and advising on corporate structuring issues with specialization in advising on the regulatory issues governing the business agreements and structuring of projects involving entities form public sector. Ali has previously practiced in the well-known law practice of Prof. Edward Eid in Lebanon and acted as a project manager of the government-supported research project at QUB-UK for building the TitaniQ Corpus. Ali has lectured on Law and IT at various universities in the UK and Lebanon.

Ahmad Ghoneim, Litigation, Abu Dhabi: Ahmad possesses a vast wealth of knowledge and, has a proven record of providing full legal services to national and multinational clients. During the last ten years, Ahmad handled many construction, civil, and commercial disputes through arbitration, and litigation. Ahmad successfully handled several construction disputes that involved arguments related to the UAE laws’ position towards the concurrent delay, nominated subcontractors, and the employer’s right to apply the LDs.

Alex Ghazi, Corporate, Abu Dhabi: Alex is a Corporate Partner and Head of Al Tamimi’s Abu Dhabi Office. Before joining Al TamimiAlex was the Group General Counsel and Company Secretary for Arabtec Holding PJSC, based in Abu Dhabi. Alex spent most of his working career as a corporate and commercial lawyer, involved in various international transactions. Over the years, he led various legal teams and departments in different industrial sectors, starting from real estate development, to automotive, to construction. Alex worked with Clifford Chance (Paris and Dubai) before he moved to Marriott International in Dubai and then in London, heading the legal department for Europe and the Middle East. He later became the Chief Legal Officer for Abdul Latif Jameel in Jeddah before joining Arabtec, in July 2013 as Chief Legal Officer for Arabtec Construction.

Mark Brown, Banking & Finance, Dubai: Mark is a Partner in the firm’s Banking and Finance practice. He has significant experience advising financial institutions with respect to transactional lending, product development, customer insolvency and legislative change. Mark’s experience also extends to assisting corporate borrowers from a range of industries, debt capital markets transactions and advising on UAE projects.

Roy Georgiades, Litigation, Qatar: Roy is a Litigation Partner with Al Tamimi’s Qatar’s office in association with Adv. Mohammed S. Al Marri Advocates & Legal Consultants. Roy is highly experienced in handling corporate disputes before the courts of Qatar and possesses an excellent track record of successfully advising international and local clients in disputes of various natures within the sectors of banking & finance, employment, real estate, construction & infrastructure, intellectual property and in commercial agency disputes in Qatar. His practice also includes the provision of legal opinions and he advises clients on all types of litigation matters and on civil law. Before joining the firm in 2012, Roy worked as a Legal Consultant at the Central Bank of Syria and as an associate at Sarkis Law Firm in Damascus. Roy is individually ranked in the Legal 500 2017 directory for Dispute Resolution in Qatar and forms a key member of the office’s Legal500 Tier 1-ranked litigation team.

Steve Bainbridge, Corporate, Dubai: Steve has extensive experience gained on a wide array of transactions underpinning the sports sector from governance issues to athlete endorsement agreements, anti-ambush marketing strategies, player contracts, broadcasting, merchandising and licensing agreements, disciplinary issues, and various sports-specific venue management arrangements. With significant top-tier law firm experience in both North America and the Far East prior to moving to the Middle East, Steve spent a number of years at one of the largest law firms in Tokyo, representing clients on broadcasting rights and sponsorship contracts in connection with FIFA World Cups, X-Games, PGA tour sponsorships, videogame licensing and stadium naming rights deals. Steve is an IAAF Judicial Tribunal member, a lecturer and advisor to numerous Sports Law LL.M. programs and he was previously General Counsel at Yas Marina Circuit managing the central legal function of the iconic F1 circuit, overseeing all contracts from F1 rights through sponsorship, broadcasting and venue contracts, as well as managing litigation and supervising secondees and outside counsel and advising the CEO and the Board on risk and strategy.

Taiba Alsafar, Litigation, Dubai: Taiba is a key member of the firm’s litigation team. Taiba has over ten years of legal experience in handling diverse civil, commercial and criminal litigation. She is actively involved in all aspects of litigation and is proficient in many legal domains including criminal cases, civil cases, commercial cases, labour cases, execution matters, property cases, rent committee cases, intellectual property matters, mediations and settlement agreements amongst others. Taiba also coaches newly qualified Emirati law graduates giving them hands on practical experience.

Commenting on the promotions, Husam Hourani, Managing Partner of Al Tamimi & Company, said:

“The promotion of these very talented lawyers not only consolidates our position as a Middle East legal powerhouse but also helps us to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving client requirements spurred by the unprecedented innovation and economic transformation in our region. On behalf of our Senior Partner, Essam Al Tamimi, and the rest of my partners, I extend my congratulations to all our new partners on the achievement of this substantial career milestone.

As the firm celebrates its 30-year anniversary this year, we are proud of our many accomplishments and contribution in nurturing and progressing the region's legal sector. We look forward to continuing to lead the efforts in this area so that the Middle East and its different economies can benefit from a strong legal framework and systems."