Welcome back to the Big Law Business column. I’m Roy Strom, and today we look at the Middle East sovereign wealth funds powering Big Law. Sign up for Business & Practice, a free morning newsletter from Bloomberg Law.
President Donald Trump’s three-country tour of the Middle East could help Big Law’s growing investment in the region pay off—if it fuels the type of US investments the president has lauded.
Big Law is a follow-the-money business. Law firms in recent years have flocked to Riyadh, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi as Middle East sovereign wealth funds turn into global investment powerhouses.
Trump’s visit was an effort to funnel more of that money to the US, where law firms would be needed to work on deals and obtain investment clearances. London-based Magic Circle firms have had Gulf Coast offices for decades and remain among the largest players in the Middle East law firm business. But they are now competing with a growing list of ambitious US firms.
The new landscape is most apparent in Saudi Arabia, which only recently began allowing foreign law firms to practice in the country. That has led nearly four dozen multinational law firms, including Kirkland & Ellis and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, to launch or expand practices in Saudi Arabia in the past two years, Bloomberg Law reported in April.
Still, only a dozen major firms have more than 10 lawyers in the country, according to Firm Prospects, and a local office with Saudi lawyers is required to compete for government business.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman conceded to Trump’s demand of $1 trillion in new investments in the US during the visit. There is major uncertainty surrounding that number, considering it’s around the size of his country’s annual gross domestic product, and Saudi Arabia is running a budget deficit with oil prices hovering just above $60 a barrel.
Still, as I reported this week, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund has already been a major client for firms including Latham & Watkins, A&O Shearman, and, more recently, Kirkland. Latham has earned between $70 million and $100 million annually from its work for PIF and its portfolio companies in recent years—among the firm’s largest clients.
PIF is far from the only Gulf sovereign wealth fund showering work on Big Law firms.
Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala was an even bigger dealmaker than PIF last year, deploying $29.2 billion, according to research consultancy Global SWF. That was the most among sovereign wealth funds.
The United Arab Emirates’ three sovereign wealth funds now manage a combined $1.7 trillion, up 15% from just a year ago, according to Global SWF.
Latham is also a frequent advisor to Mubadala, representing Mubadala Capital on its $3.4 billion acquisition of Canadian investment management company CI Financial in November. The firm in June advised Mubadala Capital in an investment to create a Brazilian SailGP racing team. And in October, it represented Mubadala Capital in an investment in Spanish technology company Babel.
Skadden last year represented Mubadala Investment Co. in its investment in Truist Insurance Holdings.
And last May, A&O Shearman and Akin Gump advised Mubadala on the acquisition of investment management firm Fortress Investment Group.
It remains to be seen how much of the investment pledges in the US will materialize. But Trump’s push to solidify investment relationships with the Middle East will likely have law firm leaders feeling bullish on their moves into the region.
Worth Your Time
On the ABA: A DC federal judge blocked the Justice Department’s move to terminate grants for an American Bar Association program that provides legal resources for domestic violence victims, Tatyana Monnay reports.
On Big Law Pro Bono: Major law firms are talking with a Heritage Foundation-linked group about free legal services for conservative causes to avoid the appearance of left-leaning political bias in their pro bono engagements, says the group’s leader, Justin Henry reports.
On Big Law Mergers: McDermott Will & Emery and Schulte Roth & Zabel are headed toward a tie-up, Meghan Tribe reports.
That’s it for this week! Thanks for reading and please send me your thoughts, critiques, and tips.
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:
See Breaking News in Context
Bloomberg Law provides trusted coverage of current events enhanced with legal analysis.
Already a subscriber?
Log in to keep reading or access research tools and resources.