Simmons & Simmons Middle East LLP

Adam specialises in advising clients on complex international, cross-border and sensitive areas of law, with a particular emphasis on financial services regulatory matters. His expertise spans both TradFi and DeFi, and he acts in both non-contentious and contentious instructions. He has gained a strong background in the local and regional framework and practicalities that are vital to understanding the international and domestic sensitivities in the Middle East. He provides current and pragmatic advice on the region's nascent regulations. His client base includes a number of the largest international financial institutions, global asset managers and hedge funds, virtual asset service providers, brokerage entities and payment providers. Consequently, he has extensive experience in liaising with the region's financial regulators and securities exchanges, including on advising on regulations issued by the UAE Central Bank, the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority/Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and the Saudi Capital Markets Authority (Saudi CMA). Adam possesses particular experience advising on crypto regulatory frameworks across the GCC, and has advised some of the world's largest crypto market participants. Striving to stay at the forefront of the constantly emerging digital assets industry, he is trusted to advise on the set up of crypto exchanges, clearing houses, custodians, broker-dealers, managers and funds, as well as a broad range of crypto-related products, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, utility tokens, NFTs, crypto derivatives and SAFTs. Prior to working in the Middle East, he was a barrister in London where his practice entailed both defence and prosecution work, with a special emphasis on financial crime and regulatory matters, including advisory and representation instructions on the proceeds of crime, money laundering, bribery and extradition. During his work at the self-employed bar, he was also seconded to the Financial Conduct Authority in London, whereby he was able to amass practical experience of complex regulatory investigations.

David McDonald

David leads the firm’s Middle East employment practice and has been based in Dubai for a decade. David advises on all aspects of the employment relationship and he is an expert in managing employee risk with a particular focus on the United Arab Emirates and Qatar markets. He has a deep background in employment disputes, workplace investigations and disciplinary matters and he regularly guides clients through these complex and sensitive situations. However, David also has considerable experience with advising clients on non-contentious work such as employment contract and handbook/policy drafting, executive level appointments and terminations.

James Coleman

James is a partner based in our Dubai office and is the Head of the firm’s Corporate and Commercial Practice Group in the Middle East. He specialises in private mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate reorganisations, investment fund establishment and related financial regulation. His clients include private equity funds, investment managers, sovereign wealth funds, corporates, financial institutions and state-owned enterprises. James has been based in the MENA region for over twelve years. He is fluent in English and German.

Jas Shoker

Jas is a Supervising Associate within the Digital Business team at Simmons & Simmons, based in the UAE. His expertise lies in advising on technology, media, and telecoms matters, where he provides comprehensive legal solutions to a broad range of clients from well-established institutions to dynamic, fast-growth enterprises. Jas is also experienced in handling a variety of IT, data and technology agreements and leading on digital transformation projects. Jas has a particular interest in emerging and disruptive technologies and is well immersed in the digital assets, artificial intelligence and connected and autonomous vehicles space. In the FinTech space, Jas is experienced in advising on cutting-edge projects, especially within the payments and digital banking sub-sectors. He has also managed a number of client secondments and collaborates with clients to maximise their contractual relationships, whilst also identifying and mitigating risks appropriately.

Lee Irvine

Lee is a partner in the Financial Markets group in our Dubai office. He has extensive experience in advising financial institutions and public and private companies on all aspects of conventional and Islamic debt capital markets, equity capital markets and liability management.

Muneer Khan

Muneer is the firm’s Middle East Regional Head. He also heads the firm’s award-winning Middle East financial markets and financial services regulatory practices, in addition to our international Islamic finance practice. He specialises in financial services regulatory matters and advises both regional and international financial institutions and asset management groups on a wide range of regulatory, investigatory, and transactional matters. In particular, he guides clients on how to navigate complex cross-border regulatory issues relating to the provision of financial services, including structuring and licensing issues, across the Middle East. Muneer has significant experience and recognised expertise in structuring a wide range of complex and innovative funds, financial products, platforms, and services, including in the areas of FinTech and digital assets. He has also advised a number of governments and national regulators on major regulatory reform initiatives. Muneer is a member of the firm's Accelerate Digital group, focused on guiding clients through digital transformation.

Owen Afriye

Owen advises clients on complex contracts, transactions and projects in the technology, digital and data space. Owen has specialist expertise navigating cross-border data matters involving emerging data privacy, cybersecurity and cloud computing regulations, and he has successfully led several market-leading organisations in regulated sectors with strategic compliance projects in this domain. He is also a regular author and contributor on data privacy matters for renowned publications such as DataGuidance and Thomson Reuters.

Payam Beheshti

Payam is a partner in the Middle East, specialised in complex disputes, with a focus on the financial services sector, contentious regulatory matters and investigations. He represents clients before the Courts of England and Wales, the DIFC Courts, the ADGM Courts, regulatory bodies as well as in arbitrations. In addition, Payam sits as an arbitrator and advises clients on anti-bribery and corruption matters, cyber-crime, data protection and privacy laws.

Raza Rizvi

Raza leads a team that advises businesses that are rich in Data, Tech, and IP and often subject to complex regulation. He leads our Middle East sector initiatives concerning TMT, FinTech, and Healthcare and Life Sciences, and is a trusted advisor to many of the biggest names in these industries. Raza has particular expertise around the legal, regulatory, and policy impact of emerging tech and sector convergence through “first of their kind” projects. His core practice includes advising on complex commercial arrangements, data rights and obligations (as a Certified Information Privacy Professional), sector-specific regulation, competition laws, and the commercialisation of intangible assets. As our Middle East TMT lead, Raza has advised numerous Telcos (including China Telecom, du, Etisalat, MTN, OneWeb, Ooredoo, Safaricom, VEON) on projects concerning networks and services. He is also immersed in the FinTech space advising Financial Institutions (including American Express, BlackRock, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Qatar Islamic Bank, UAE Banks Federation) on a host of innovative projects, particularly in the payments sub-sector. Another area of deep focus for Raza is advising pharma, medical device, and healthcare businesses (including Astellas, Bayer, Becton Dickinson, Celgene, GSK, Houston Methodist, Wright Medical). Raza often brings together his TMT and Healthcare sector understanding to work on digital health projects across the Middle East and Africa. Raza’s deep industry knowledge has been enhanced through senior-level client secondments (including into GSK as acting regional general counsel and into the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s R&D programme as lead counsel). Raza is a member of the firm's Accelerate Digital group, focused on guiding clients through digital transformation.

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