May 9, 2011 — International law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP is expanding its Middle East practice and opening a Riyadh office in association with the Law Office of Looaye M. Al-Akkas. Looaye M. Al-Akkas has joined V&E as partner and will manage the practice in Saudi Arabia effective immediately.
The Riyadh office will focus on construction/infrastructure; corporate/M&A; capital markets; energy; project development and finance; and conventional and Islamic banking and finance. V&E’s Saudi practice also includes partners Sami Al-Louzi and Ahmed el-Gaili, as well as associates William Page and Fahad AlMalki.
“We are delighted to be expanding our practice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has long been a very active and important market for us. V&E has been one of the premier international law firms serving clients both located in and doing business in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region for many years and we are thrilled to further expand our practice with a third Middle East office,” noted Lewis Jones, Managing Partner of V&E’s Middle East offices.
“The addition of a Riyadh office underscores V&E’s strong commitment to the Middle East and to Saudi Arabia. It is very exciting to have Looaye, a highly regarded Saudi lawyer with depth of experience in the market, join us on-the-ground in the Kingdom,” said Joe Dilg, the firm’s Managing Partner. “We now have five native-Arabic speaking partners with significant international experience resident in the Middle East, which is unique among international firms and provides exceptional value and efficiencies for our clients,” he added.
Looaye's practice focuses on advising corporate multinationals in structuring major projects and mergers and acquisitions in the Kingdom and also has significant experience across a wide range of capital market matters. He also advises Saudi and foreign clients regarding corporate restructurings, commercial agreements, Saudi government tender, and banking regulations.
Most recently, Looaye was with Legal Advisors in Association with Baker & McKenzie in Riyadh. He also worked with Saudi Aramco as in-house legal counsel, providing advice on matters including refining and petrochemical projects, joint venture structures, initial public offerings, drafting commercial agreements, and handling major international arbitrations and claims. He received his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law and his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.
“I was greatly impressed by V&E’s highly-regarded regional practice and premier international energy platform,” said Looaye. “I look forward to contributing to V&E’s MENA region growth and leveraging the firm’s excellent track record of advising on complex and sophisticated cross-border transactions both in Saudi Arabia and around the world.”
Vinson & Elkins LLP is an international law firm with approximately 760 lawyers across 15 offices worldwide, including 25 lawyers in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai. For more information, please contact Susan Peters at 1.212.237.0149 or Jacqueline Martin, at +971.4.403.6233.