Our corporate and commercial expertise crosses from incorporating new businesses and partnerships, organizing shareholder agreements and affairs, structuring and restructuring of assets, managing mergers and acquisitions, carrying out legal due diligence, drafting and reviewing agreements relating to both investments and divestments in connection with the purchase and sale of assets and real estate or intellectual property, managing distributions and winding-down of investments, assisting with shareholder and general assembly meetings, advising on corporate governance and anti-money laundering compliance, and competition antitrust reviews and submissions, to advising on investment structure and vehicle, creation of trusts, and assisting family offices.

We advise on data protection issues, employment matters and labor unions, intellectual property, multinational corporate concerns (agencies, distributions, franchises), ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) disclosures, review of economic substance reporting (ESR), filing of audited financial reports, and we handle corporate secretarial services and filings generally. These services are provided to a wide range of industries of varying scale both on a local and cross-border basis, directly with client in-house teams, and seamlessly through international legal counsel.

We assist and advise on licensing and compliance of wholesale and retail financial institutions, investment and private equity firms, insurance firms, and ancillary service providers; we represent both Islamic and conventional licensees of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) with managing ongoing obligations and reorganizations.

We advise on change of control issues, listings, merger controls, private placements, rights issues, bonds, Sukuk, and debt security issues, offerings, and schemes. We advise on mergers, liquidations, surrender of licenses, and business transfers of Bahrain Bourse publicly listed companies and privately held entities. We also regularly act as legal counsel to local and international lenders in secured and unsecured financing deals and securitization transactions.

We work closely with audit firms, forensic firms, financial advisors, tax advisors, and consulting firms on large scale and complex transactions.

Our licensing expertise similarly extends to engineering firms and applications to the Council for Regulating the Practice of Engineering Professions (CRPEP), industrial services and manufacturing licensing and applications to the Industrial Directorate of the Ministry of Industry & Commerce & Tourism (MOICT), real estate developments and Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) licensing, telecom companies and licensing from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), as well as transportation through the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT) and the Civil Aviation Affairs (CAA).

Additionally, we assist with a variety of regulatory, compliance, and licensing matters relating to industries ranging from retail, import, and export services and shopping malls, hospitality and hotels, agricultural product and supplies, hospitals, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, education services, sports, e-commerce and technology, and other platforms including shipping, oil, gas, and petrochemicals, warehousing, cloud and data storage services, and courier and maritime services.

Whilst licensing and regulation is necessary to ensure the quality, integrity, and sustainability of the Bahrain market and environment, we believe that it should be a straightforward and efficient process. We support the initiatives of various public bodies including the Economic Development Board (EDB), Tamkeen, the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), and the MOICT and we seek to cooperate in keeping Team Bahrain: Business Friendly.

We represent local and international clients in civil and commercial litigation, mediation and arbitration, criminal complaints and prosecutions, and representation before tribunals. These services relate to disputes concerning amongst others, partnership, investment, agency, trust, financial or commercial claims, insurance or compensation claims, termination of contract and controversies relating thereto, lease, eviction, or property issues, employment and labour disputes, bankruptcy and reorganization, recovery of assets or funds, protection of intellectual property, defaults, licensing and administrative matters, fraud, forgery, breach of trust, mismanagement, financial crime, and other disagreements or claims.

Additionally, we assist with enforcement of foreign judgements and arbitral awards, we handle execution of judgements once they have been given execution force, and we advise on public policy and jurisprudence issues. We act as Bahrain law experts to foreign courts and tribunals.

We represent clients at various levels of litigation and appeal including the Court of Cassation. We represent clients in judicial panel claims and arbitrations before the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) as well as other institutional and ad hoc arbitrations. We represent clients in constitutional appeals as well as adjudications and enforcement proceedings.

We believe that thoroughly understanding a case, efficient management, keeping clients fully informed, and setting realistic expectations form the cornerstone of a successful dispute resolution team. A mutual party settlement is always an ideal outcome when possible.

Whilst we are a commercial law firm generally representing corporates and banks, we do offer a discrete service to expatriates in Bahrain in connection with marriage, separation, and divorce as well as custody, abductions, and family matters. We also advise on creation of wills, probate services, employment matters, and we assist with investments, trusts, and protection of estates.

Representative Clients

Some local and international clients whom we have assisted with banking, regulatory, and corporate matters include amongst others:

Ahli United Bank, Al Salam Bank, Amazon, Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), Arcapita Investment Company, TNT, Apple, United Bank Limited, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, FedEx, DynCorp (an Amentum Company), Bloomberg, Prism Group, Thomson Reuters, Tier Mobility, Jumeirah International, Mueller Industries, Bank Muscat, Kuwait Finance House, Gulf Insurance Company (GIG), Bahrain Credit Facilities Company, Bank ABC, Bahrain Development Bank, GFH Financial Group, Khaleeji Commercial Bank, Ajyad Capital, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), First Energy Bank, Zain Group, St. Christopher’s School, BMMI, Brookfield Multiplex, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Credit Suisse, UPS, and UBS.