DLA Piper has hired Adrianus Schoorl as a legal director, marking a return for the former Wizz Financial general counsel to the firm and to private practice.
Schoorl has more than 25 years of financial regulatory experience in Europe, the Middle East, and North America.
He worked at global fintech firm Wizz Financial as general counsel and head of compliance, joining in June 2022. Prior to that, he was a partner at White & Case, working across the Middle East from the firm’s offices in Dubai and Riyadh.
Additionally, he spent six years as Allen & Overy’s financial services regulatory head for the Middle East. Alongside working as a lawyer at DLA Piper, from 2010 to 2013, he has worked at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and CMS.
Schoorl has also held roles outside of private practice at the Ontario Securities Commission, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, and the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets.
Speaking to Law Middle East, Schoorl said:
“My move back to private practice is driven by the fact that I am a private regulatory practitioner at heart, focusing on challenging and exciting regulatory matters in the payments, crypto, and traditional financial services space—and focusing on those that seek to invest in that space, notably funds.
“I was at DLA Piper previously (2010 – 2013) and to me this is one of the firms where I built lasting relationships. As DLA moves from strength to strength, I am excited to be part of that journey and I am a big believer in the center stage that the GCC is taking in relation to building out world class regulatory frameworks.”
In March, Al Tamimi & Company hired Ali El Hawary as a banking partner. El Hawary was formerly general counsel for a leading Abu Dhabi-based bank.
