Banking & Finance Lawyer

**Banking & Finance Lawyer**

**Dubai**

**Brief**

We are seeking to recruit an Associate to join our Finance and Restructuring team in Dubai.

**Our Dubai Team**

Our fast-growing, well-regarded and award-winning Finance & Restructuring team advises banks, market-leading corporates and sponsors with their financing portfolios as well as on major transactions. It is well known for handling complex muti-bank cross border transactions, both on a secured and unsecured basis and often incorporating green loan or sustainability-linked principals. The team covers the following disciplines using both conventional and Islamic structures: bilateral and syndicated lending; acquisition and leveraged finance; real estate finance; project finance; asset-based lending, receivables finance and trade finance and structured finance.

Our team is an established player in Islamic finance and has advised some of the largest Islamic financial institutions in the region. The team is expert in a wide range of Islamic products and familiar with the impact of the latest regulatory developments promulgated by AAOIFI and others. The team’s experience of Shari’ah compliant financing ranges from general banking, project finance, restructuring and hedging.

The team also has extensive experience working with the full spectrum of stakeholders (including insolvency practitioners, shareholders, directors and financial creditors) on all aspects of consensual and contentious financial restructuring in relation to both out-of-court arrangements and court-led proceedings. In this context the team also has an in-depth understanding of the UAE’s various insolvency regimes. We have also worked closely with the insolvency practitioners active in the region, including Alvarez & Marshal, who were the appointed administrators on the administration and related restructuring of NMC Healthcare. The team also has experience acting on the cross-border enforcement of security and other credit support arrangements.

Team leader Matthew Escritt is recognised and ranked by all major legal directories, and the team is ranked for UAE Banking and Finance in Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.

“He is exceptionally good and can be briefed on all matters relating to banking and finance, including on appropriate dispute resolution processes.” Chambers & Partners

“Commercially focused and efficient approach.” Legal 500

Several of our deals have won awards and recognition over the past few years, evidencing the team’s growing reputation. These include:

- Project Finance Deal of the Year (Capital Markets & ESG Finance Awards 2024)
- Project & Infrastructure Finance Law Firm of the Year (Islamic Finance News 2023)
- Al Wakra Al Wukair STP, Qatar - PPP Deal of the Year at the PFI 2023 Awards
- Zayed City Schools Project - Banking & Finance Team of the Year - Middle East Legal Awards 2023.
- Zayed City Schools PPP - Our team advised the syndicate of banks - MENA Social Infrastructure Deal of the Year - IJGlobal Awards 2023.

**Key Clients Include**
- **HSBC**:

- **First Abu Dhabi Bank**:

- **Dubai Islamic Bank**:

- **Mashreqbank**:

- **Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank**:

- **Natixis**:

- **Ooredoo**:

- **Aldar**:

- **Lulu**

**Work Highlights**
- We advised FAB, ENBD and ADCB in connection with the AED 600m green revolving credit facility made available to National Central Cooling Company PJSC for the purposes of financing or refinancing ‘Eligible Green Projects’ in accordance with the borrower’s ‘Green Finance Framework’
- Advising FAB in connection with a secured term facility for Abu Dhabi-headquartered private healthcare provider, Burjeel Holdings plc
- Advised HSBC, Korea Development Bank, The Norinchukin Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank in relation to the project financing of Khalifa University’s new student accommodation public-private partnership (PPP).Advising a leading UAE-based Islamic bank in connection with a syndicatable Ijara financing to a Sharjah utility company
- Associate level role 1-3 PQE;
- be a team player, able to forge strong working relationships with colleagues in an agile environment;
- be technically strong and exercise good commercial judgment;
- have the interpersonal skills necessary for this client-facing role.

The role is wide-ranging, will focus on and include:

- a high-quality transactional work on a broad range of financing and restructuring mandates;
- developing on-going relationships with an existing client base as well as pitching for new opportunities;
- developing close working relationships as part of a team with an international outlook;
- the opportunity to be involved in transactional of the highest quality both domestically and internationally.

**What will we offer you?**
- We are a highly regarded, dynamic and growing team who work together to produce outstanding results for our clients.
- We invest in our team and have a first-class training and career development prog