Law firm Squire Sanders has announced the acquisition of El-Khoury & Partners’ MENA business, which formerly practiced in Saudi Arabia as EK Partners & Al-Enezee. Squire Sanders will now open a fully integrated office in Riydah, operating as Al-Enezee.
The Riyadh base will now operate through an expanded team of 15 lawyers led by Kevin Connor, alongside Ziad El-Khoury, Khulaif Al-Enezee, Wissam Hachem and Hadi Melki.
“This is one of the first acquisitions of a Middle East law firm by a global legal practice and it demonstrates Squire Sanders’ long-term commitment to investing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As part of a global practice we can offer regional clients considerable added value and will be able to leverage our presence in the Middle East, particularly in the telecoms, capital markets, projects and infrastructure sectors – these are key sectors in this market and for which Squire Sanders already has an outstanding reputation in many jurisdictions worldwide. We are also looking at next steps as we implement our strategic business plan for the region,” said new Squire Sanders partner Ziad Ghassan El-Khoury, previously managing partner of EK Partners & Al-Enezee.
Squire Sanders’ coordinating partner for MENA, Kevin Connor, added: “We have worked closely with El-Khoury and Al-Enezee for many years, and the consolidation of this relationship is a natural progression. Saudi Arabia is the Middle East’s largest economy and so a strong, on-the-ground presence in the Kingdom is a key step in further developing our regional practice. We now have 15 full-time lawyers in Riyadh, making a total of 46 active in our MENA practice. The Middle East is a key part of our global business, and this investment is to serve all our clients who do business there.”
