Latham & Watkins announced that Leen Zaza has joined the firm’s Riyadh office as an M&A and Private Equity Practice partner. Zaza regularly advises Saudi and international companies, private equity firms, investors, and government bodies on various complex transactions, with a focus on private M&A, joint ventures, divestments, corporate governance, and corporate regulatory and advisory matters.
Zaza has major experience advising on high-profile transactions across a variety of industries, including energy and infrastructure, shipping, industrials, healthcare and life sciences, e-commerce, real estate, and retail. And she also regularly counsels boards and senior executives on general corporate regulatory and advisory work.
Zaza’s arrival represents the latest investment the firm has made in Riyadh, following the promotion of Project Development & Finance counsel Marc Makary and Derek McKinley and White Collar Defense & Investigations associate Abdullah Alsaeed to partner. And the firm has been operating in the Middle East since 2008 and was recently granted a Regional Headquarters (RHQ) License by the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia.
Zaza joins Latham from Khoshaim & Associates. She received her LLB and LLM from the University of Bristol.
KEY QUOTES:
“Leen is a highly regarded practitioner with first-class technical skills and a wealth of experience advising on some of the region’s most significant strategic M&A and private equity transactions. Her broad practice spans important sectors that are central to Saudi Arabia’s ambitious growth plans, and she will be a terrific addition to our strong and growing team.”
- Salman Al-Sudairi, Managing Partner of the MENA Region at Latham & Watkins
“Latham & Watkins’ transactional capability in the Middle East is among the very best and the firm is known for its deep industry knowledge, cutting-edge work on transformational deals, and highly skilled teams. Saudi Arabia is a major global financial and commercial hub and represents an important pillar of our global strategy. Leen’s track record, connections, and experience are highly complementary to the firm’s, and we are delighted to welcome her to the team.”
- Charles Ruck, Global Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Corporate Department
