Morgan Lewis Launches Saudi Arabia Office, Taps A&O Shearman Partner to Lead
US law firm establishes Riyadh base amid surge of international legal firms entering Kingdom
US-based law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius has formally announced the opening of an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, appointing Dr Sultan Almasoud—formerly co-managing partner of A&O Shearman’s Saudi hub—as managing partner of the new regional presence.
The expansion marks Morgan Lewis’s first fully-fledged Saudi outpost and reflects a broader entry of multinational firms into the Kingdom’s legal market.
According to the announcement, Almasoud joins after a long tenure at A&O Shearman and brings deep experience in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and corporate-commercial advisory in Saudi Arabia.
He remarked that the firm’s “culture, firm commitment, and strategy to invest, underlying with Saudi Vision 2030, motivated me to join this team.”
The firm did not specify the full size of the Riyadh headquarters or the precise launch date, but noted that it will build on Morgan Lewis’s existing Middle East presence in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The move comes as Saudi Arabia continues regulatory reform to attract foreign legal firms, allowing them to operate independently rather than through associations with local firms.
The trend has drawn a wave of international entrants, including Baker McKenzie, Kirkland & Ellis, and Quinn Emanuel.
Analysts say the Riyadh office positions Morgan Lewis to capitalise on increasing transactional, financing and dispute-resolution work linked to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification under Vision 2030. The firm’s practice areas likely to benefit include infrastructure, energy transition, capital markets and sovereign-linked investments.
For Morgan Lewis, the initiative deepens its footprint in one of the region’s fastest-growing legal markets and underscores a strategic commitment to the Gulf.
For Saudi Arabia, the establishment of yet another global firm signals growing international confidence in its legal, regulatory and business environment.
The expansion marks Morgan Lewis’s first fully-fledged Saudi outpost and reflects a broader entry of multinational firms into the Kingdom’s legal market.
According to the announcement, Almasoud joins after a long tenure at A&O Shearman and brings deep experience in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and corporate-commercial advisory in Saudi Arabia.
He remarked that the firm’s “culture, firm commitment, and strategy to invest, underlying with Saudi Vision 2030, motivated me to join this team.”
The firm did not specify the full size of the Riyadh headquarters or the precise launch date, but noted that it will build on Morgan Lewis’s existing Middle East presence in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The move comes as Saudi Arabia continues regulatory reform to attract foreign legal firms, allowing them to operate independently rather than through associations with local firms.
The trend has drawn a wave of international entrants, including Baker McKenzie, Kirkland & Ellis, and Quinn Emanuel.
Analysts say the Riyadh office positions Morgan Lewis to capitalise on increasing transactional, financing and dispute-resolution work linked to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification under Vision 2030. The firm’s practice areas likely to benefit include infrastructure, energy transition, capital markets and sovereign-linked investments.
For Morgan Lewis, the initiative deepens its footprint in one of the region’s fastest-growing legal markets and underscores a strategic commitment to the Gulf.
For Saudi Arabia, the establishment of yet another global firm signals growing international confidence in its legal, regulatory and business environment.
