Simmons & Simmons Middle East LLP

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.