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Baker McKenzie, the largest US law firm by head count, has acquired a “majority interest” in its Saudi partner Legal Advisors, Abdulaziz Alajlan & Partners, renaming it as Baker McKenzie Law Firm, according to a statement. The US law firm also said it has obtained a regional HQ license from the Investment Ministry.
What we know: The direct acquisition of a majority stake in Bajer’s longtime Riyadh-based associate will see it operate in the Kingdom under the Baker McKenzie brand, the statement said, without providing further details on the size of the stake that was acquired or the value of the transaction. Baker McKenzie’s regional HQ will be based in Riyadh and will be run by Managing Partner Karim Nassar (Linkedin).
Baker McKenzie already has a footprint in Saudi: The US-based firm has been active in Saudi and the MENA region since the 1970s either directly or indirectly through local affiliates, according to the statement. It currently operates eight offices in the region, including two in Riyadh and Jeddah.
What they said: “Our regional headquarter in Riyadh entrenches our long-established and market-leading presence in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region…We are also thrilled to have acquired an equity interest in Legal Advisors, after so many years of seamless collaboration with them,” Nassar said. Riyadh-based partner Abdulrahman AlAjln said the acquisition would “contribute to the transfer of international legal knowledge and expertise to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region.”
Making it easier for foreign firms to open here: More global law firms have been encouraged to open offices in the Kingdom after the government removed a requirement last year requiring the firms to work through affiliated Saudi law firms.
AND- Fully-owned foreign law firms coming? The Justice Ministry is also seeking public opinion on proposed rule changes that would allow foreign law firms to set up wholly-owned shops here. The amendments would allow these firms to provide legal advisory services and plead before courts through practicing Saudi lawyers. Public consultation over the amendments runs until Sunday, 7 July.
The latest in a flurry of firms setting up shop in Saudi: More than 400 global firms — in contracting, manufacturing and tech — including Boeing and Amazon, have obtained RHQ licenses from the Investment Ministry, Bloomberg reported last week. Big banks are also finding it hard to resist the incentives to do so, with Goldman Sachs and Japan’s Mizuho obtaining licenses to base their MENA operations out of Saudi. Others including BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC have ramped-up their hiring in the Kingdom.
BACKGROUND- Earlier this year, the government rolled out tax incentives for foreign companies that relocate their regional headquarters to the Kingdom — and state institutions are helping with the push. The incentives are part of a plan that is a cornerstone of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman’s drive to build a diversified, globally significant non-oil economy, and has been in the works since February 2021. Companies that don’t declare Saudi their regional HQ could be prevented from bidding for government work.
