Clifford Chance

Khalid Al-Abdulkareem appointed to Office Managing Partner of Clifford Chance's Riyadh office

Clifford Chance is delighted to announce that Khalid Al-Abdulkareem has been appointed Office Managing Partner of Clifford Chance's Riyadh office effective 1 January 2016.

Khalid is one of the original founding partners of our joint Saudi and international operations in the Kingdom. He is highly respected in the market, a brilliant technician and commands a loyal client following. His appointment demonstrates the strength and importance of our Saudi practice. Khalid will continue to co-head our award-winning Corporate practice alongside partner Omar Rashid.

"I am honoured to be appointed Office Managing Partner. Since the opening of our Riyadh office two years ago, Clifford Chance's Saudi presence has gone from strength to strength. I am very proud to be leading a team who have unsurpassed technical knowledge of the local market and who deliver enduring and unwavering support to our growing loyal local and international client base," commented Al-Abdulkareem.

Tim Plews steps down from his role as Office Managing Partner but will continue to head our leading Middle East Financial Services & Regulatory practice.

Clifford Chance is also delighted to welcome Mohamed Hamra-Krouha back to Riyadh. Mohamed has been based in Abu Dhabi for the past five years and prior to this worked in Riyadh for three years under our cooperation agreement with Al-Jadaan. Mohamed, who has continued to work with Saudi clients throughout, will head our Finance team in Riyadh. Mohamed will continue to work with and support our Abu Dhabi practice and clients.

Remarking on the developments, Regional Managing Partner, Robin Abraham said: "This appointment is a great achievement for Khalid. It also shows the confidence of our growing Saudi team and our commitment to creating a platform for the best Saudi legal talent. Since the opening of our Riyadh office two years ago, Clifford Chance has invested significantly in the development of the Saudi legal profession by offering our lawyers extensive training opportunities in Riyadh and abroad, developing a new Saudi training contract for young lawyers graduating from university, expanding our practice with the inclusion of high-performing female lawyers and a range of other initiatives."

The Firm's strength in the Saudi market was further confirmed at the recent IFLR Middle East Awards where Clifford Chance was awarded Saudi Law Firm of the Year for the tenth year in a row – the only law firm to have ever won this award^[1].

Clifford Chance has one of the largest execution teams on the ground in the Middle East with over 110 lawyers across offices in Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai and Riyadh. Robin Abraham concludes, "These changes in our Riyadh office enable us to better service our clients and position our practices for growth whilst offering talented lawyers an opportunity to advance their careers with one of the world's leading law firms."