• Amar Meher, a leading banking and finance lawyer, joins two high profile Saudi partners and AG infrastructure and project partner Alex Sarac who is relocating to Riyadh from Dubai, with the team led by Andrew Johnston, Head of Middle East and Asia
  
  
• Client-led expansion into KSA - an essential jurisdiction to deliver strategic growth, position AG for premium work and create job opportunities for the best local and international talent

Addleshaw Goddard has announced another key partner hire for its upcoming office in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is currently pending regulatory approvals. Amar Meher will join the firm to lead its banking, finance and restructuring practices in Saudi Arabia, completing the five-strong partner group launching the office.

Prior to joining Addleshaw Goddard, Amar worked for several leading international law firms, including Latham & Watkins LLP in its Riyadh office, Allen & Overy LLP in both its London and Dubai offices and Vinson & Elkins LLP in its Dubai office.

Amar has a broad practice which principally focuses on debt restructurings, conventional and Islamic finance across all financing areas and asset classes and Shari’ah-compliant structured products, such as derivatives and investment funds. He has been involved in some of the most complex and significant restructurings in the Kingdom, and acted on numerous milestone conventional and Islamic facilities for various high profile publicly listed and non-publicly listed clients.

Amar has a reputation amongst clients as the go-to lawyer for debt restructurings and structured financings in Saudi Arabia and is regularly ranked as a leading finance lawyer in Saudi Arabia by prominent publications such as Chambers, Legal500, Euromoney and Islamic Finance News.

Addleshaw Goddard's fourth office in the MENA region and 17th overall will be led by Andrew Johnston, Addleshaw Goddard's Head of Middle East and Asia, and will include three high profile partners in addition to Amar – Ibrahim Siddiki who joins from Bracewell in Dubai, where he led the KSA corporate M&A practice as a partner, Homam Khoshaim, an M&A expert formerly at Latham & Watkins, while Projects & Infrastructure partner Alex Sarac is relocating to Riyadh from Addleshaw Goddard's Dubai office to complete the partner group.

AG's presence in KSA, the fastest growing country in the G20, is still subject to regulatory clearance. On launch day, the office will also comprise eight lawyers and paralegals. The 13-strong team will offer expertise in corporate, banking and finance and infrastructure assignments and has broad sector expertise in energy, oil and gas, renewables, infrastructure, transport, technology, hospitality, manufacturing and consumer goods which aligns closely with KSA Vision 2030.

AG’s aspiration in KSA is to provide clients with a full-service capability in order to support a wide range of inbound and outbound assignments.

Commenting on Amar’s appointment, Andrew Johnston, Head of Middle East and Asia, Addleshaw Goddard, said:

“The market reaction to our planned launch in KSA has been very encouraging and we are delighted that another highly well-known and respected lawyer in the local market has chosen to join Homam and Ibrahim to spearhead AG’s new office in Riyadh. Amar is an excellent fit for our business and a stand-out lawyer in his specialist field who shares our ambition to make a real impact for our clients in sectors closely aligned with Saudi Vision 2030.”

Amar Meher, Partner, Addleshaw Goddard, said:

“I am delighted to join Addleshaw Goddard as a partner in its Riyadh office. Addleshaw Goddard is a leading international law firm which has established itself as a pre-eminent law firm in the region over the past 10 years. Together with our outstanding team both internationally and regionally, I look forward to the opportunity to establish a leading law firm in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia particularly at a pivotal time when both the firm and the country are at the forefront of international attention for their respective enviable international growth and unprecedented transformation under Vision 2030.”

In 2022, Addleshaw Goddard expanded further into European markets important to clients, opening offices in Dublin and Luxembourg, and two in Germany (Frankfurt and Munich). It serves clients in Asia through its hub in Singapore and also has a growing presence in Paris, Hamburg and in six of the UK's key commercial centres.