Taylor Wessing hires tech specialist for MENA

Taylor Wessing hires tech specialist for MENA

Abdullah Mutawi has joined the company in Dubai to develop M&A, private equity, and venture capital offerings in the region

Among its latest recruitments is Taylor Wessing, which has recruited the head of corporate commercial at leading Middle East firm Al Tamimi & Company to become its head of corporate for MENA.

Having practiced corporate law in London and the Middle East for more than 25 years, Abdullah Mutawi brings his expertise in M&A, corporate finance, venture capital, and special situations to his TMT sector. Taylor Wessing in Dubai is recruiting him after three years at Al Tamimi, where he developed and led the venture capital and emerging companies practices, as well as led the M&A practice.

Ronald Graham, who heads the Dubai office of Taylor Wessing, said that the firm was looking for a senior corporate tech lawyer to complement its international team and capitalize on the company's offerings in Europe in M&A, private equity, and venture capital work in the technology sector.

Added that Abdullah is a well-known lawyer in this space with experience in multibillion-dollar tech transactions throughout the world, he says, "I'm delighted that he decided to join us."

Prior to joining Al Tamimi in 2019, Mutawi spent five years as a partner at the US law firm Baker Botts Dubai. Earlier, he spent more than a decade with UK firm Trowers & Hamlins, in Bahrain as executive director of the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications sector and in Dubai as the head of its UAE operations. While working at Hill Dickinson and Norton Rose Fulbright in London, he began his legal career.

Furthermore, he co-founded Dubai Angel Investors in 2016, a seed and Series A micro-VC angel fund and currently serves as its chairman.

"The regional VC and start up ecosystem has expanded tremendously in recent years and clients increasingly require global capabilities that will be able to provide through this Band One ranked platform," said Mutawi. "Growth capital, M&A and IPO/de-SPAC exit volumes are also growing by a significant margin in the region, and we are confident that our top-quality M&A support and seamless coverage throughout the UK, Europe, and the US can benefit clients' maturing portfolios and legal requirements."

Mutawi's hire expertise aligns with Taylor Wessing's global growth and his reputation will aid us in driving new opportunities in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, noted Taylor Wessing's UK managing partner, Shane Gleghorn.

Mutawi's hiring follows Taylor Wessing's last July report that the UK Company's revenue had jumped 12percent to £175.5m over the past year thanks to the addition of six new partners to its corporate group. Deidre MacCarthy and Adam Griffiths are among the new hires - they were hired last July to spearhead the new Dublin office. Having joined from ReganWall, Griffiths hails from a local firm, while MacCarthy comes from an offshore outfit.

The UK's Clyde & Co has been expanding its corporate offering in the Middle East lately, adding Morgan Lewis & Brockius energy and corporate partner Chadi Salloum to its office in Dubai soon after increasing lawyer Rizwan Riyadh's status to partner in Riyadh.

In October, HFW hired finance expert Euan Pinkerton from Baker Botts to launch an on-the-ground transactional offering in Riyadh, with Pinkerton becoming the firm's third full-time partner to be based in Riyadh since it entered the city through an association with local firm Mohammed Al Khiliwi in 2019.