Skip to main content

Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance
Robin Abraham

Robin Abraham

Partner - Executive Partner & General Counsel

Partner - Executive Partner & General Counsel
Robin Abraham

Robin Abraham specialises in banking and project finance.

Robin's areas of practice include project finance, restructuring, Islamic finance and secured and unsecured lending. He has acted on a number of high profile banking and project finance deals in the Middle East.

  • Advising Jumeirah Group on a US$1.4 billion syndicated term facility
  • Advising the arrangers on the US$880 million refinancing for Atlantis, The Palm in the UAE
  • Advising the arrangers on the US$1.4 billion Islamic facilities for the SAMREF Clean Fuels Project in Saudi Arabia
  • Advising Jebel Ali Free Zone on a AED4.4 billion Islamic syndicated secured facility.
    Syndicated Deal of the Year – Islamic Finance News Awards 2013
    Islamic Finance Deal of the Year – ALB The Brief Middle East Awards 2012

News and client work

View all news and client work featuring Robin Abraham

Contact details

Career and qualifications

  • University of Newcastle upon Tyne (B.A. (Hons Politics and History) 1991
  • Joined Clifford Chance 1995
  • Admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales 1997
  • London office until 2003 (including short secondment to Amsterdam office)
  • Dubai office since 2004
  • Partner since 2005

Professional bodies

  • Law Society of England and Wales

Awards and citations

  • Robin Abraham is the managing partner of Clifford Chance's Middle East practice and is one of the most well-known banking and finance lawyers in the UAE. One interviewee stated: "We are lucky to get a lot of work with him." He is best known for his work in projects, Islamic finance and restructuring. He also has an excellent reputation for his activity in Oman. Sources particularly praise his level-headedness, stating that he is "the most unflappable person to handle these multibillion-dollar deals - he keeps a calm demeanour.“
    Chambers Global 2019
  • Middle East managing partner Robin Abraham advises on project finance, syndicated lending and restructuring matters. Clients enthuse that "he is practical, has a very strong understanding of debt facilities and is not shy of giving a definitive position."
    Chambers Global 2016: Banking & Finance – UAE
  • Robin Abraham has a stellar profile for his knowledge of financial law. He advised the lenders on the Fujairah Oil Terminal expansion and Enagas (Spain) and Marubeni Corporation on its bid for Nogaholdings LNG plant in Bahrain. Impressed sources say: "He is a go-to on the finance side of things - he is excellent." He is based in the firm's Dubai office.
    Chambers Global 2016: Projects & Energy – Middle East
  • At Clifford Chance, practice head Robin Abraham led the team on a number of significant restructurings, including advising Dubai World on the consensual rescheduling of secured credit facilities totalling $14.6bn.
    Legal 500 2016:  Banking & Finance – UAE