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Waseem is a consultant in Reed Smith’s Global Commercial Disputes Group, with close to 25 years of legal experience gained across both the UK and the Gulf region. He is a qualified Solicitor (England & Wales) and a registered legal consultant with the Dubai Legal Affairs Department.
Experience
Representative matters
Representative matters
Advising major property developer and hotel operator on various transactions, including circa US$1 billion acquisition of a European hotel chain and on the acquisition of major hospitality and commercial assets.
Advising start-up hotel brand on structuring, financing and equity placement options.
Advising on major re-development projects in London (Paddington Basin, Kings Cross).
Corporate, Commercial, JVs, Structuring/Re-structuring
Advising major property developer and hotel operator on various transactions, including circa US$1 billion acquisition of a European hotel chain and on the acquisition of major hospitality and commercial assets.
Advising start-up hotel brand on structuring, financing and equity placement options.
Advising on major re-development projects in London (Paddington Basin, Kings Cross).
Advising major private retail group on a US$250 million private placement, including major restructuring of the Group.
Lead adviser on the acquisition of a major construction group across the Middle East region.
Advising on the acquisition of multiple restaurant chains as part of a corporate expansion across the region.
Advising on the disposal of the region’s largest video gaming distribution network.
Advising major construction group on the bidding and building of a major airport (Pakistan’s New Islamabad Airport).
Advising on various JV and teaming arrangements, including structuring complex IP arrangements.
Advising on a major dispute concerning a development on the Dubai World Islands.
Creating investment platforms and structuring overseas investments, holdcos, funds, trusts, etc on major structuring and re-structuring projects.
Dealing with both solvent and insolvent re-structurings.
Advising major regional PE firm on re-structuring options.
Advising MNCs on roll-out across the region, investment in plant, factories and manufacturing.
Regulatory, Investigations, Tax
Advising major corporates, defence contractors and individuals on regulatory compliance and investigations, including SFO, DoJ and HMRC related investigations.
Advising MNCs on major tax litigation against HMRC challenging key aspects of the direct tax regime. This involved extensive use of Group Litigation Orders and pleadings before the Supreme Court and the ECJ.
Advising on various white collar crime matters, including defence of Carousel Fraud (VAT) claims.
Advising the Pakistan Cricket Board and then team captain (Inzamam-ul-Haq) in relation to the 2005 “Ovalgate” ball tampering incident.
Advising Pakistan International Airlines on lifting of flight bans over European skies and other regulatory matters.
Family Businesses
Advising multibillion-dollar KSA family group on an extensive restructuring of their group following the implementation of Family Protocols. The project included a detailed asset profile review, extensive regulatory assessment, detailed local and international tax/Zakat planning, modelling and design of the “to be” Group structure under a single Holdco, formation of family SPV LLCs and the implementation of the relevant structure.
Advising a major UAE family industrial group on restructuring the family business under a single Holdco structure, including the formation of family SPV LLCs. This project also required extensive analysis and advice around both Emirati and non-Emirati ownership structures, change of control issues and legal vs beneficial ownership challenges.
Design of a Corporate Governance structure was also required as well as ensuring that the group restructuring did not adversely affect the financial effectiveness of the Group. We also advised on Shari’a and non-Shari’a inheritance and the establishment of offshore trust structures for individual family members.
Advised major UAE family Group on key succession issues and restructuring objectives. In particular, the family members were concerned about dilution of ownership of the family business away from blood-line family members, risk around competing claims from heirs and the maintenance of family members that could be denied wealth through natural inheritance.
Advising the Founder of a major Dubai-based family group on 2G succession issues where there were heirs from different wives. The project required extensive mediation between the Founder and the separate groups of heirs.
Public Sector
Advising the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs on the reform of corporate vehicles available in the UAE.
Advising on the legal restructuring of Municipal companies for GCC countries.
Drafting the legal framework for the Gulf Monetary Council (precursor to Gulf Central Bank).
Advising the GCC Secretariat on the legal design of a cross-border Real Time Gross Settlement payment system.
Working with DIEDC on the development of a new Islamic Finance code.
Advising on the transformation of multiple Health Ministries and regulation across the region.
Advising the Ministry of Finance of a GCC country on the set up and governance of the Innovation Fund.
Benchmarking and designing the legal strategy for the Ministry of Finance as it transitions from a cash to accrual accounting system.
Advising DEWA on the design and set up of its “green” investment fund.
Drafting regulations for a regional Central Bank on peer-to-peer lending platforms.
Advising the key regional supra-Ministry on legislative process reform.
Advising public sector bodies on the creation and structuring of in-house legal teams.
Credentials
Professional admissions & qualifications
Professional admissions & qualifications
- England and Wales
- The Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department
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