King & Spalding Increases Presence in Middle East With the Addition of Two Lawyers

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA and ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES--(Marketwire - Jan 19, 2012) - King & Spalding increased its presence in the Middle East with the addition of two lawyers to its offices in Riyadh (affiliate office) and Abu Dhabi. They are counsel Mohammed Javid Shafi in Riyadh and senior associate Simon Rahimzada in Abu Dhabi. Their arrival adds to King & Spalding's strength in the areas of Islamic finance, real estate finance, corporate finance, restructuring, real estate, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures.

"We are pleased to welcome Javid and Simon to our team in the Middle East," said Jawad I. Ali, managing partner of King & Spalding's offices in Dubai, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. "We are dedicated to growing our team in all of our offices in the Middle East. We were fortunate to attract a number of high quality lawyers to our team in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Dubai in 2011. We plan to continue this growth through 2012 to strengthen our on-the-ground capabilities in all practice areas in all of our offices in the region."

Shafi is qualified in England and Wales. He has over 10 years' experience advising borrowers and lenders on banking and financing transactions, with particular expertise in real estate finance, syndicated loans, acquisitions, securitizations, structured finance and restructuring of security on behalf of lenders. Shafi also provides broad-based commercial real estate advice encompassing all aspects of commercial real estate work including investment, development and landlord and tenant work. He received a Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC) from the College of Law, Chester, United Kingdom, and an LL.B., with honors, from Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom.

Rahimzada is qualified in England and Wales. He has experience in cross-border acquisitions, joint ventures and corporate restructurings, especially in the energy sector. Rahimzada also has worked on capital markets deals for domestic and international clients. He received a Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC) from the College of Law, Guildford, United Kingdom, and an LL.B. (Honours) law degree from City University London.

King & Spalding's Dubai, Abu Dhabi and (affiliated) Riyadh offices specialize in complex corporate M&A and private equity transactions, debt capital market transactions, financial transactions, project development and project finance, as well as international arbitration. Many of the matters these offices handle are related to the energy, healthcare, education, real estate, property investment and development, hospitality and telecommunications industries. The firm has long been considered a leader in Islamic finance and investment. It has represented clients operating in the Middle East since the early 1980s, was one of the first firms to create a practice focused on this specialty and pioneered many of the Shari'ah-compliant financing and investment structures that are in common use today. The firm has a highly regarded debt capital markets team that covers both conventional and Islamic debt capital market products. Its energy practice is known worldwide for its oil and gas work, particularly in the area of liquefied natural gas, and also has a strong base in district cooling, electric power, petrochemicals and renewable energy.

About King & Spalding
Celebrating more than 125 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 800 lawyers in 17 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.