Al-Ali joined Reed Smith in October 2018 from Simmons and Simmons. He has over 15 years’ experience advising clients in the energy and natural resources industry on structured trade and commodities finance and commercial lending matters globally.
In particular, he has advised clients on prepayment financings, borrowing base financings, inventory monetisations, pre-export financings, numerous receivables financing structures and commodities repos, as well as a number of other aspects of trade and commodities finance, such as bilateral loan and letter of credit facilities, payment instruments, participation structures, the securitisation of receivables purchase arrangements and the treatment of certain products for regulatory capital purposes.
He also has extensive experience of representing clients in connection with more mainstream banking arrangements, such as general corporate finance, acquisition finance, real estate finance and fund finance, as well as restructuring and insolvency matters.
Further strengthening the firm’s Singapore offering, senior associate Jemma Collins has recently relocated from New York to Singapore. She specialises in cross border disputes for the energy and natural resources and financial services industries. Throughout her career she has already spent extensive periods in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States. Collins also spent several years working in-house with Cargill International SA, based out of Geneva.
Praj Samant, Global Chair of Reed Smith’s Energy and Natural Resources group, said: “As the Asian commodities markets continue to evolve, we are seeing greater demand from clients for on the ground expertise. We support our clients wherever they need us; so, bucking the recent trend of international lawyers leaving the region, we are delighted to have exceptional talents like Omar and Gemma move to Singapore.”
Al-Ali added: “One of the first things I noticed since joining Reed Smith was the truly collaborative approach to working. There are many outstanding lawyers throughout the firm and these skills are drawn upon globally to ensure that we can provide the best possible advice. I look forward to being closer to our clients operating in Asia and working with them to drive their business forward.”
Al-Ali and Collins will be operating from Singapore from 27 July 2020.
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a dynamic international law firm dedicated to helping clients move their businesses forward. Our belief is that by delivering smarter and more creative legal services, we will not only enrich our clients’ experiences with us, but also support them in achieving their business goals.
Our long-standing relationships, international outlook and collaborative structure, make us the go-to partner for the speedy resolution of complex disputes, transactions and regulatory matters.
For further information, please visit reedsmith.com.
