Samer Qudah

Partner, Head of Corporate Structuring

Biography

Samer joined Al Tamimi & Company in 1999 and has been a partner since 2007. In January 2020, he was elected as the Managing Partner and led the management and strategic direction of the firm across the Middle East and North Africa until 1 January 2024.

Samer also heads the firm’s Corporate Structuring Department, which consists of a diverse team of lawyers spread across Al Tamimi’s regional offices. He has extensive experience of over two decades in structuring and restructuring entities and businesses for clients operating throughout the Gulf and the broader Middle East region. In addition, he has wide-ranging experience advising major blue-chip organisations, financial institutions, government and semi-government concerns, SMEs, private equity funds, FMCG’s and TMT companies on a wide range of issues, in particular M&A transactions, legal, due diligence, joint ventures, drafting, and negotiating commercial agreements, agency law issues, regulatory affairs and other corporate law-related issues.

On the legislative side, Samer has been involved in the enactment of several local and federal laws and had led the legislative developments of the laws of free zones and special economic zones across the GCC. He is also an experienced litigator, which has given him a deep understanding of the legal and judiciary systems of the United Arab Emirates, and he has drafted court pleadings in complex civil and commercial matters.

Samer is highly praised by clients and peers and trusted by the business community locally and internationally. His expertise is recognised globally and reflected in leading legal directories, including IFLR, Chambers & Partners, and The Legal 500. Samer was recognised by the Who’s Who Legal as a Thought Leader in the category of Firm Management.

Samer received multiple awards including M&A & Corporate Lawyer of the Year in 2022 and the Managing Partner of the Year in 2023 by the Legal Era Middle East, the Regional Managing Partner of the Year by the LAW Finest Legal Awards, the Managing Partner of the Year Legal 500 MENA Awards 2024 and shortlisted for the Managing Partner of the Year award by IFLR in 2022 & 2023.

Samer has published extensively on corporate law related issues and he is the author of numerous articles published in both regional and international publications. He presents regularly in conferences and seminars speaking on the legal formula for doing business in the UAE and the wider Middle East region. He is a member of many associations including the Jordanian Bar Association and the International Bar Association.