DLA Piper announces two Middle East Partner promotions

DLA Piper is proud to announce the promotions of Mona Hammadi and Rami Zayat to its partnership effective 1 May 2024. The promotion takes the Firm’s Middle East partner headcount to 29, with Mona and Rami amongst 63 lawyers to have been promoted to DLA Piper’s partnership globally. Promotions have been made across all the firm's practice areas, spanning 37 offices in 18 countries.

Based in the Dubai office and a key member of the broader Finance team, Mona, a GCC national, has over 14 years’ experience in the region where she advises governments and developers, as well as both local and international lenders on ‘first-of-its-kind’ utility and infrastructure projects. Mona has been a key contributor to the growth of the renewables sector in the region and is currently leading strategic mandates to deliver efficiency and sustainability in the region’s energy, utilities and broader infrastructure sectors. In addition to the Mona’s promotion, DLA Piper announced the relocation of Nacim Bounouara, International Head of Projects, from London to join its Middle East team. Nacim brings extensive experience in advising on energy, utility, and infrastructure projects across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. His presence further strengthens the firm's position as a market leader in energy and infrastructure across the Middle East.

Rami represents a range of clients from start-ups to mature publicly traded companies, government entities, IT companies, investment companies and private equity firms. With over 17 years at DLA Piper, Rami has been instrumental in advising across various industries, focusing on government contracting, large-scale IT agreements, corporate commercial matters, and intellectual property in the Middle East. He has significantly contributed to the growth of the Middle East IPT Group, particularly in non-contentious IT projects and large-scale outsourcing transactions.

Commenting on the promotions, Peter Somekh, Regional Managing Partner for the Middle East and Africa, remarked: “The promotion of two partners underscores the continued success of our Middle East operations. Mona and Rami are talented lawyers and key members of our Middle East team. Their dedication, expertise, and commitment to client service embody our firm's values. Having worked at DLA Piper for a substantial part of their careers, Mona and Rami have helped grow our regional offering, particularly, in the increasingly important renewable energy and technology space. I am delighted to welcome them to our partnership.”

Read our global new partner announcement here.