White & Case has expanded its mergers & acquisitions (M&A) practice with a new hire from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Abdallah Maher joins the global law firm’s office in Riyadh as a partner.
He spent eight years at Freshfields, where he was most recently a counsel, according to his LinkedIn profile, and is due to relocate from Dubai to Riyadh as part of the move.
“We see high demand from clients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for corporate expertise as transactional activity there remains strong, driven by sovereign wealth fund investments and cross-border deals,” said White & Case partner John Reiss, head of the firm’s global M&A practice. “Abdallah’s M&A experience across the Middle East will help us meet the needs of our clients in Saudi Arabia and in the broader region.”
Maher has over a decade of experience advising on M&A transactions in the Middle East and North Africa, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He advises on public and private deals for financial institutions, telecommunications companies, and technology firms.
Riyadh office executive partner Waad Alkurini said: “[Maher’s] knowledge of Saudi corporate law and reputation and contacts in the Saudi Arabia market make him a valuable addition to our Riyadh office, which continues to go from strength to strength.”
White & Case was granted a licence to open an office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in December 2023, and subsequently obtained a Regional Headquarters (RHQ) licence in Riyadh.
With the addition of Maher, White & Case now counts six partners in Riyadh. It has continued to build its global M&A practice from the Middle East, having recruited Dechert partner Phillip Sacks in Dubai in November 2023.
