Ashurst has strengthened its corporate and M&A practice with a new partner hire in Dubai.
Vasi Papadopoulos joins the firm from White & Case, where she was most recently a local partner, according to her LinkedIn profile. She spent six and a half years in the firm’s Dubai office and prior to that, she worked as legal counsel on secondment with Abu Dhabi renewable energy company, Masdar.
Papadopoulos has experience advising international and UAE corporates, financial institutions and private equity firms on a variety of transactions, with a focus on cross-border and local M&A, joint ventures and restructuring. She works across a range of sectors, including technology, energy, financial services, and e-commerce.
Welcoming the appointment, Simon Rahimzada, Middle East head of corporate at Ashurst, said.
“The corporate/M&A and private equity markets in the Middle East are booming, as foreign entities contemplate their entry or expansion into the region and regional investors look to establish their presence abroad. Vasi’s experience has strong synergies with our key areas of focus, and her expertise and reputation in the Middle East market will be of great value to our clients and bring further strengths to our growing corporate/M&A team. We look forward to working with Vasi as we continue to broaden our corporate/M&A offering in the region.”
David Charlier, Middle East managing partner at Ashurst, said: “As the UAE and the wider MENA region experiences extraordinary growth and interest from foreign investors, we are pleased to welcome Vasi—whose technical experience and skillset adds great bench strength to our existing team and enables us to further capitalise on the opportunities ahead.”
The appointment follows a series of recent hires to Ashurst’s UAE corporate team, including senior associates Andrew Robinson and Maroun El Hachem, and associate Dasith Vathanage, who all joined the Dubai office this year.
