Latest news with #PinsentMasons
CairoScene
18 hours ago
- Business
- CairoScene
London-Based Pinsent Masons Expands With New Riyadh Law Firm
The new office marks its fourth location in the Middle East and will focus on transactional legal services. Pinsent Masons has opened an office in Riyadh, marking its fourth location in the Middle East after Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha. The new office, which began operations in the beginning of March, is led by Ibrahim Alajaji, a project finance and construction specialist who was previously a partner at Alsabhan & Alajaji. While Pinsent Masons and Alsabhan & Alajaji will now operate independently, the firms will continue their exclusive collaboration, first established in 2018. Alsabhan & Alajaji will focus on local court matters and legislative drafting under the leadership of Naif Alsabhan, while Pinsent Masons Saudi Arabia will focus on transactional legal services. The Riyadh office includes partners Rena Scott, who joined last year from Orrick to lead the firm's Saudi construction advisory and disputes practice, and Tim Armsby, who heads the firm's Middle East finance and projects division. Both Armsby and Alajaji have advised Saudi Arabia's National Centre for Privatisation, which oversees public-private partnerships and government entity privatisations. The new structure is anticipated to allow Pinsent Masons' to further serve clients in the Saudi market and offer opportunities for young Saudi lawyers to gain experience in high-value transactions and complex legal matters. The move follows Saudi Arabia's 2023 legal market reforms, which allow foreign firms to establish their own operations in the Kingdom. These changes have prompted several international law firms to enter or expand their presence in Saudi Arabia, including Clifford Chance, Latham & Watkins, and Addleshaw Goddard.
Scotsman
29-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Pinsent Masons major hires bolster Aberdeen energy offering
Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has announced two Partner appointments which significantly strengthen its Aberdeen office. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Energy sector specialist Chris Sawyer has joined the firm's corporate team while former Burness Paull director Gillian Harrington joins as a partner to lead the Granite City-based employment team. Both appointments have been described as 'headline hires' by Pinsent Masons Partner and Aberdeen Head of Office Richard Scott. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Chris Sawyer has held a number of C-suite level in-house legal roles over a 20 year period with major oil and gas operators including bp, and more recently EnQuest where he was General Counsel. Gillian Harrington, Partner and head of Pinsent Masons employment team in Aberdeen. His international experience, including a three year period as head of legal for bp's Russian business in Moscow, aligned with two decades of UKCS focused activity, bolsters Pinsent Masons expertise in oil and gas, energy transition, risk management and regulatory compliance. Gillian Harrington is well-established in the north-east having spent her entire career in Aberdeen and for the last six years was a director in Burness Paull's employment team. Her experience of advising executive boards on complex, contentious and non-contentious employment issues, will be an asset to the firm's broad range of UK and international clients. Julia Maguire, Pinsent Masons' Global Sector Head, Energy, said: 'The energy sector, both in the North Sea and globally, offers huge opportunities. Many larger energy companies are selling their mature assets to the smaller independent energy businesses who then redevelop them to extend their lifespan while reducing carbon emissions. Our clients need guidance on navigating shifting markets, driven by the energy transition and the need to ensure a secure energy supply in the context of continuing geopolitical uncertainty. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Chris' and Gillian's expertise will help ensure we capitalise on these opportunities and continue to deliver our energy clients' most important and most complex deals across the globe. Having seen our global energy practice grow by 90% over the last four years, we appreciate the continuing and growing client need for the kind of deep sector expertise and experience which Chris and Gillian can offer.' HSE litigation specialist Willie Park has been promoted to Legal Director at Pinsent Masons. Pinsent Masons also recently announced the promotion of Aberdeen-based HSE litigation specialist, Willie Park, to Legal Director. Richard Scott said: 'Both Chris and Gillian are very highly regarded in their respective fields and the stature of these appointments underlines our commitment to clients in Aberdeen and beyond to continue to provide market leading expert legal counsel across the energy sector. 'As Chris and Gillian settle into the team, and with Willie Park's appointment as Legal Director recognising his expertise in and out of court, our offering goes from strength to strength and we will continue to seek out the best practitioners who can add to value to our client portfolio.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Chris Sawyer said: 'I worked with Pinsent Masons at bp and again at EnQuest so know the firm very well and as a recipient of its client outreach seminars and thought-leadership initiatives, I think Pinsent Masons as a truly sector-focused law firm offers clients something quite unique. Energy specialist Chris Sawyer joins Pinsent Masons as a Partner in the corporate team. 'The risk portfolio of operating in the North Sea has gone up significantly in recent years, be that through climate action and awareness, regulation or the taxation system. Those risks are starting to play out in a way that lawyers are being called upon to assess them differently from say five years ago, and coming at this with a 'GC mindset' I will be able to advise clients on navigating those complex issues.' Gillian Harrington added: 'Pinsent Masons has an excellent reputation in the energy sector both in Aberdeen and globally. I see a significant opportunity to further grow our employment practice and to continue to deliver market-leading advice to our clients.
Scotsman
28-04-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Scotland to act on Grenfell fire tragedy findings
Acceptance of public inquiry's recommendations will mean significant changes to building and fire safety regulations, says Katherine Metcalfe Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Scottish Government's acceptance of all recommendations from the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire signals further significant changes for Scotland's construction sector, particularly in building and fire safety regulations. The response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report by the Scottish Government sets out key components to strengthen building and fire safety standards and improve compliance and enforcement. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One of the main focus areas is the need to ensure the professional competence of those responsible for the design and specification of buildings and in the delivery of safe buildings. Katherine Metcalfe is Partner specialising in health and safety, fire safety and building safety, Pinsent Masons The role of the fire engineer was one of several professions highlighted in the report. The Scottish and UK governments will work together on the professionalisation of fire engineering including developing a more robust UK assurance regime for fire engineers and increasing the number of places on high-quality degree courses in fire engineering. Several recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report relate to the competency of fire risk assessors. The Scottish Government has proposed adopting a system of mandatory accreditation to certify the competence of fire risk assessors by setting standards for qualification and continuing professional development. Currently in Scotland, and across the UK, there is no legal requirement for an assessor to hold any formal certification, accreditation or experience in fire risk assessment when assessing many types of premises. The Grenfell Tower inquiry is not the first time such a recommendation has been made in Scotland, and it is really encouraging that action will now be taken. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The proposal ties in with the plan to introduce a new mandatory requirement to conduct fire risk assessment in certain high- and medium-rise buildings. This new requirement is set to reduce the risk of fire while promoting the long-term integrity of the system for cladding remediation in Scotland. The Scottish Government has also committed to working with the UK Government on the development of a UK national licensing scheme for principal contractors, which could be of equal value in Scotland. This addresses the concern underscored in the Grenfell Tower inquiry in relation to the ability of principal contractors to take all reasonable care to ensure the building is safe, as required by the building regulations. In addition, the Scottish Government has asked the Scottish Law Commission to undertake a project on compulsory owners' associations. The project involves exploring legal options for the establishment, formation and operation of compulsory owners' associations and the rights and responsibilities to be imposed on them. This stems from the Phase 1 report of the Grenfell Tower inquiry, which recommended that the owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to prepare personal emergency plans for residents whose ability to evacuate the building without assistance may be compromised, such as persons with reduced mobility or impaired cognition. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Scottish Law Commission is expected to publish its recommendations next Spring for consideration by ministers. Following the Law Commission's recommendations, the Scottish Government will consider whether compulsory owners' associations may be a route to ensure that those who are unable to self-evacuate have a person-centred risk assessment in place. The response has also acknowledged that the regulation of construction products falls under reserved matters, confirming that the UK Government's revised assurance regime for construction products will also be implemented in Scotland.
