Middle East
Doha
Our Doha office is located in Qatar’s prestigious West Bay. With significant proven reserves of both oil and natural gas, and one of the world’s highest per capita production rates, Qatar’s economy is one of the fastest growing in the world.
Our team of lawyers has a deep understanding of the Qatari legal, regulatory, commercial, and financial markets paired with substantial Middle East and international experience. Our full-service legal practice in Doha offers legal advice in all areas, including corporate, commercial, regulatory and legislative drafting, projects, energy and infrastructure, aviation, banking and finance (including Islamic finance), telecoms, media and technology, real estate and construction, intellectual property, and all manner of dispute resolution.
We represent major State of Qatar-backed entities, family conglomerates, listed companies, and financial institutions doing business both domestically and abroad, as well as international clients doing business in Qatar and across the Middle East region. Members of our team have worked on a number of strategic government advisory mandates and are regarded as experienced practitioners in Doha. These mandates have included advising government agencies on the preparation and drafting of the entire suite of laws and regulations for their operations and projects, advising on trophy-asset acquisitions, and supporting strategic restructurings.
Alongside this, our firm was retained as the key adviser and drafter of the entire suite of new contracts being rolled out for Ashghal, the Qatar Public Works Authority. We take pride in having one of the few specialist public-private partnership lawyers operating in the Middle East, and consider our Doha office to be a true market leader when it comes to advising clients on front-end construction and infrastructure project tendering, contract drafting, and financing.
Doha is one of the centers of excellence for our global Islamic Finance group. We advise banks and borrowers on all aspects of their banking and finance requirements, including some of the most complex regional work-outs involving complicated cross border and Sharia’h issues. Our office is the country correspondent for Islamic Finance News, a leading global news provider in the Islamic finance sector, and also advised on the award-winning first Sharia’h-compliant exchange-traded fund in Qatar.
Our Litigation and Dispute Resolution team is a very active part of our local offering. We routinely carry out advocacy in arbitration in the Qatar Financial Centre Courts, delivering our clients a full-service dispute resolution offering to ensure they have maximum visibility and control over their cases. We regularly advise local and international clients on litigation, arbitration, mediation, and, in particular, dispute avoidance and alternative dispute resolution. Our Litigation and Dispute Resolution partners in the region also sit as arbitrators. We have an impressive track record of cases in the local Qatari courts, in which we work closely alongside leading local counsel as our clients’ advocates.
Our Doha office has a regional outlook and works across the wider Middle East region on mandates for Qatari, regional, and international clients. Additionally, our office has a fully bilingual offering and is able to seamlessly advise clients in connection with documents and laws drafted in English and Arabic. With the benefit of our global platform, we routinely work with an international team of lawyers on projects across different jurisdictions, practice areas, and time zones.
Chambers
Ranked by Chambers Global for Banking & Finance in Qatar, 2024
Ranked by Chambers Global for Banking & Finance in Qatar, 2023
Legal 500
Ranked by The Legal 500 EMEA for Banking, finance and capital markets in Qatar, 2024
Ranked by The Legal 500 EMEA for Commercial, corporate and M&A in Qatar, 2024
Ranked by The Legal 500 EMEA for Dispute resolution in Qatar, 2024
Ranked by The Legal 500 EMEA for Projects, real estate and construction Qatar, 2024
Very good knowledge of the local market but their main differentiator is the international experience that they bring compared to others. Setting up international firms in Qatar is very complex and we found K&L to be the best-suited to drive an international corporation set-up in Qatar.
The unique team proposition is that on most work a leading global expert works with the local team. This is quite unique and attractive.
K&L Gates provide an exceptional personal service and endeavor to communicate in a way that benefits the company, making timely decisions on matters of legal importance. They prefer a collaborative approach whilst remaining aware of the needs of the client.
K&L Gates’ has a team of extremely talented lawyers and depth of capability at all levels. Their attention-to-detail and commitment to develop the strongest possible case is clearly evident–and they do so in an affable and exceptionally professional manner.
K&L Gates has a diverse team with knowledge of local and global best practices.