Pinsent Masons appoints new head of Middle East
Osama Hassan takes top job as law firm reports strong growth in several sectors
Pinsent Masons has appointed its current Middle East Corporate lead Osama Hassan as the head of the Middle East region.
According to the law firm, Hassan is widely recognised within the UAE corporate market “as a trusted adviser to a broad range of major energy and infrastructure organisations, government departments and government-owned entities as well as heads of family owned businesses.”
He has provided dual language, Shari’a, local and international law expertise in the region for over 30 years, it added in a statement.
Pinsent Masons is enjoying a period of strong growth in the Infrastructure, Energy, Real Estate and Financial Services sectors and has advised on a number of key mandates, including advising National Energy Services Reunited Corp (“NESR”), a NASDAQ-listed entity in relation to its acquisition of the entire share capital of National Petroleum Services (“NPS”), creating the largest oil and gas services company in the MENA region and acting as lender’s counsel to a consortium bidding for the Shuqaiq 3 Independent Water Plant, the second in a pipeline of water plants being procured by the Water and Electricity Company (WEC) in Saudi Arabia. It also announced an alliance with Saudi law firm Alsabhan & Alajaj in March.
It has continued to add expertise across the firm over the past year, including appointing leading infrastructure and energy partners, Tim Armsby and Gurmeet Kaur, to its finance & projects practice. Partner Tom Bicknell also joined the Dubai office leading the firm’s financial services and corporate insurance offering.
“Our vision is to be recognised as an international market leader in our global sectors. The Middle East has a team of highly experienced lawyers with deep sectoral expertise and with Osama at the helm, will continue to go from strength to strength,” said John Cleland, managing partner at Pinsent Masons.
Osama Hassan added that he was ready to embrace his new responsibilities.
“Our 90-strong team in the Middle East has advised on a range of crucial mandates across the Infrastructure, Energy, Real Estate and Financial Services sectors this year,” he noted. “As I move into this role I look forward to deepening our relationships with our clients and continuing to offer the collaborative culture and deep sector expertise that Pinsent Masons is known for.”
