Full Profile
Saad is an Associate who has been based in the Dubai office since December 2018. As part of his corporate practice he has worked on joint ventures, initial public offerings (IPOs), corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions (M&As), foreign direct investment (FDI) and general corporate advisory matters in UAE and Oman. He has also worked on competition matters in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt.
In addition to corporate, competition and transactional matters, Saad has a keen interest in arbitration and dispute resolution and has assisted on a broad range of matters under Pakistani and English law. He has also worked on transactions, aviation matters, shareholders disputes and restructurings in South Asia, several African countries and the wider Middle East.
Saad has also completed commercial secondments at the Emirates Group and Air Liquide MENA.
He is a dual-qualified lawyer, having qualified as a barrister in England and Wales and as an Advocate of the High Courts in Pakistan. Saad is part of our Pakistan Practice Group. He is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb).
Saad completed his international pupillage in 2018 to qualify as a barrister at 33 Bedford Row Chambers in London. He has also worked at a reputable law firm in Pakistan, focussing on energy, M&As and commercial litigation. He is fluent in English, Urdu and Punjabi. Saad holds an LLM from the University of Edinburgh, LLB from University of Liverpool and was called to the Bar of England and Wales by Middle Temple.
Experience
- Corporate – Advised an Omani utilities provider on its acquisition of a minority stake in a major UAE utilities provider.
- Corporate – Advised a consultancy firm in relation to the legal aspects of its operations and compliance related issues in Pakistan.
- Corporate – Advising a prominent Pakistani bank and a Middle Eastern telecommunications company in their efforts to introduce mobile payment solutions through secure digital wallet system in Pakistan.
- Corporate – Advising an Omani utilities provider on its planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Muscat Securities Market and working on its legal due diligence exercise.
- Corporate / Trade and Commodities – Advising a multinational integrated oil and gas company on the sale of its shares and assets in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
- Corporate – Advising a multinational holding company active in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Togo, Nigeria, Jordan, UAE, Egypt and Myanmar over restructuring and consolidation of its business in Singapore.
- Corporate – Advising a Dubai-based private equity business over its acquisitions of shares in a major Abu Dhabi-based utilities and infrastructure group.
- Corporate / Competition – Advising Abu Dhabi based dredging company on competition issue in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt emanating from its merger with a petroleum company in UAE.
- Competition / Corporate – Advising a JAFZA based paints company on potential competition issues in Pakistan.
- Competition / Corporate – Advising a UAE based stakeholder on competition matters relating to a Pakistani telecommunications company.
- Corporate / Shareholder Disputes – Advising a UAE-based company in a shareholders' dispute against a multinational automotive coatings manufacturer over liabilities and exclusivity of operations in Middle East, Pakistan and Central Asia.
- Corporate / FDI – Advising an accountancy firm representing a South Korean auto manufacturer on the establishment of training centres in Dubai's free zones.
- Corporate – Advising a global consultancy firm on the financial institutions' data outsourcing in Pakistan.
- Corporate / Employment – Advising the Middle East's division of a global confectionary, beverage and food company on employment aspects concerning its regional leadership.
- Retail and Consumer – Advising a multinational group company regarding its potential acquisition of a Pakistani company's Middle Eastern operations.
- Retail and Consumer – Advising an Omani real estate developer in relation to its franchise arrangements with a premium US café/restaurant brand for operations in Muscat.
- Retail and Consumer – Advising a Middle East based retail and hospitality conglomerate on joint ventures, IT and franchise agreements.
- Retail and Consumer – Acting as strategic counsels for a major Abu Dhabi-based holding company on shareholder disputes and litigations involving its telecommunications, banking and investment management subsidiaries.
- Commercial Disputes – Advising an international oil and gas company regarding execution of foreign decrees in Pakistan.
- Commercial Disputes – Advising a major fuel supplier of Muscat International Airport against a major Omani airline over breaches of contractual obligations.
- International Arbitration / Projects and Construction – Advising UAE-based construction contractors and US-based industrial products developer on the prospects of success in arbitrations under LCIA, DIFC and ICC Rules.
- International Arbitration – Working with a team advising a Kuwait-based contractor in its arbitration against a British company under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules.
- Trade and Commodities – Advised a British independent investment management firm regarding storage of oil products in bonded storage in Karachi, Pakistan.
- Trade and Commodities – Advising the UAE entity of a Dutch energy and commodities company on its investment structures and joint ventures in Pakistan.
