Welcome to GLA & Co, the premier full-service regional law firm committed to delivering exceptional legal solutions across the Middle East and North Africa. With eight strategically located offices in six key jurisdictions—UAE, KSA, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Egypt—we are positioned to serve our clients with unparalleled expertise and dedication.
Founded by a team of experienced legal professionals, GLA & Co has grown to encompass over 16 partners and more than 150 lawyers across the MENA region. Our diverse team is united by a shared commitment to excellence and a deep understanding of the unique legal landscapes of the jurisdictions we operate in.
At GLA & Co, our clients are at the heart of everything we do. We pride ourselves on building strong, lasting relationships with our clients, understanding their individual needs, and tailoring our services to provide innovative, commercially sound, and cost-effective legal solutions. Our extensive experience allows us to navigate complex legal challenges and deliver results that drive success.
We are dedicated to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion within our firm. By attracting and retaining top talent from various backgrounds, we ensure that our clients benefit from a wealth of perspectives and insights, enhancing our ability to meet their diverse legal needs.
Our comprehensive range of services includes corporate law, commercial advisory, dispute resolution, banking & finance, anti-trust & competition and more. With a commitment to integrity, professionalism, and excellence, GLA & Co stands ready to assist you in achieving your business objectives.
Choose GLA & Co as your trusted legal partner in the Middle East and experience the difference that comes from working with the leading regional law firm dedicated to your success.
Read More About UsWith Offices Throughout the Region, Our Firm Represents Companies in the Middle East and Worldwide
At GLA & Company, we provide strategic, cost-effective, and forward-thinking legal representation for companies seeking to do business in the Middle East. We also represent MENA startups and established companies doing business locally and abroad.
Our practice encompasses all of the legal issues companies will likely encounter in the global business environment. With extensive experience advising clients in the key Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain plus Egypt, we offer unique insights for companies seeking to establish or expand business operations in these nations. From advising on various aspects of doing business in the region, engaging in simple or complex transactions, assisting with local regulatory disclosures with various competition or anti-trust authorities, or resolving disputes (local or arbitral), our attorneys are well-equipped to provide current, concise and timely representation to all types of clients.
We Work With Companies and Their International Counsel
We work with many of our clients directly. This includes clients located in the Middle East and in other regions worldwide in a diverse array of industries. But we also work with companies’ international law firm counsel in many instances. If your firm has a client with interests in the Middle East, GLA & Co attorneys can either shoulder the load or work alongside your firm’s attorneys to meet your client’s needs in a timely and cost-effective manner.
We Provide a Full Suite of Necessary Legal Services for Global Companies
We have structured our firm to serve as full-service outside counsel to multi-national companies seeking to do business in the Middle East and regional companies ranging from high-tech startups to established real estate developers, financial institutions, and retailers. This is illustrated by our practice areas, which include:
- Anti-Trust & Competition
- Banking & Finance
- Capital Markets
- Commercial Advisory
- Construction & Projects
- Corporate and M&A
- Data & Technology
- Disputes
- Employment & Benefits
We Offer Unique Perspectives on Doing Business in the Middle East
As a result of our attorneys’ decades of local experience, we offer unique perspectives on doing business in the Middle East. Not only are our attorneys intimately familiar with the legal and regulatory issues, but they are knowledgeable about local and regional customs as well. As a result, our attorneys can help our clients avoid costly—and potentially embarrassing—mistakes while fully addressing their legal needs.
We are Different from Our Competitors
As a boutique law firm with the resources and talent of much larger firms, we stand out from our competitors. We offer custom-tailored, one-on-one legal representation at reasonable rates, and our attorneys take a personal interest in ensuring that our clients have every available opportunity to succeed. Moreover, what sets GLA & Co apart is our unparalleled combination of international and local expertise. GLA & Co combines the best and brightest regional international advisors with local experts who often hold an established and respected relationship with many key regulatory authorities, allowing us to provide the best advice and representation in a timely manner.
Speak with an Attorney at GLA & Co Today
If you would like to know more about our attorneys, our practice areas, or any other aspect of our firm, we invite you to get in touch.
Our Team
Nader
Al Awadhi
Senior Partner
Nader Al-Awadhi is a founding and senior partner of GLA & Company and also founding principal of Nader Al Awadhi Attorneys and Legal Consultant Law Firm, with 46 years of legal experience. Nader Al Awadhi’s reputation in the Kuwait legal profession is well-known. He has developed a strong forte for commercial and corporate litigation matters representing many of the top Kuwaiti companies and institutions as well as many famous international companies. Nader has applied his knowledge of bankruptcy and insolvency laws to commercial litigation matters in relation to distressed companies and restructuring at large and legal consultancy for corporate.
Alex Saleh
Managing Partner
Alex Saleh is a founder and managing partner of GLA & Company and takes a leading regional role in the firm concerning its M&A and Private Equity practice. With over 25 years of experience in both the GCC and the US, he has accumulated sizable expertise in the areas of banking and finance, M&A, capital market deals and infrastructure projects. His experience garners praise from the leading legal directories, and his transactions regularly win Deals of the Year from the same institutions and organisations. Alex was the recipient of the “Lawyer of the Year” in the Law Magazine awards of 2022.
Hegui Taha
Partner & Head of Cairo Office
Hegui Taha is a partner at GLA & Company. Hegui has more than 16 years’ experience and is specialized in corporate, M&A, capital market, Civil, Commercial and employment laws. He has participated in major transaction and IPOs with a significant number of clients. He has also been involved in major IPO’s and private placements. Hegui conducted various due diligence and drafting of the relevant transaction documents. Also in drafting various types of agreements. He also provided clients with day-to-day corporate matters. Assisted in handling ESOP.
Hegui was awarded “Rising star” in the Law Magazine awards of 2022.
Dean Jaloudi
Partner & Head of Qatar Office
Dean Jaloudi is a Partner and Head of the Qatar office of GLA & Co.
He has worked for international law firms in Doha since 2018 and previously worked as a corporate/commercial lawyer in Dubai from 2012 to 2017.
Dean’s area of expertise is equity capital markets (ECM) transactions on the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE). He advised Baladna QPSC and QLM Life & Medical Insurance QPSC on their successful initial public offerings (IPOs) on the QSE. He has also recently advised several Qatari companies on their proposed conversion and direct listing on the QSE.
Dean has also advised the first Qatar-based independent venture capital fund manager on the establishment in the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) of the first VC fund under the rules of the QFC. Dean advised on all legal aspects of this project, from the drafting of an Offering Document, Fund Articles of Association, Investment Management Agreement, Fund Administration Agreement, and other legal documents, to advising on compliance with the rules and regulations of the QFC.
Ashraf Hendi
Partner & Head of Banking and Finance
Ashraf Hendi has recently joined GLA & Co as a Partner and Head of Banking and Finance. He brings with him a wealth of experience from his previous roles at several regional and multinational law firms, including Matouk Bassiouny, Al Tamimi & Company (Kuwait), Zaki Hashem & Partners, and Dentons. He also worked for a significant period at HSBC Egypt as an in-house legal counsel. He is specialized in banking and finance transactions, yet he also assisted clients on several corporate secretarial works, and mergers and acquisitions.
Ashraf represented clients in multiple syndicated and bilateral facilities, project finance and equity finance transactions. His expertise brings together legal and practical know-how gained from representing major financial institutions and corporations across a wide variety of sectors. He has worked on banking and financing transactions in the GCC market and has represented financial institutions in multi-jurisdictional debt finance transactions and Islamic financing. He has also worked on asset-backed financings and debt capital market transactions, including securitization issuances.