• Bankruptcy and insolvency;
• Carbon markets and climate change issues;
• Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, or CFIUS, in connection with investments and acquisitions in the US;
• Construction and engineering;
• Corporate governance, securities disclosure & other US, EU and international securities and financial compliance issues;
• Data protection rights and obligations;
• Education and health; Environmental policy and mitigation;
• Export control issues;
• Financial institutions matters;
• Anti-corruption matters;
• Infrastructure and project finance;
• International tax matters;
• International trade, state aid, customs and competition matters;
• International transactions, including mergers and acquisitions;
• Islamic law and Islamic finance;
• Law and investment in the states of the GCC;
• Legislative reform;
• Life sciences transactions and licensing;
• Litigation, international arbitration and investigations;
• Market access rights and issues and WTO matters;
• Media and communications issues;
• Middle Eastern, EU and US regulatory and policy matters, including legislative and executive branch matters in Washington, DC and state capitals;
• Non-profit organizations;
• Patent litigation and the acquisition and licensing of intellectual property rights;
• Private clients; Public international law;
• Real estate;
• Regulatory and policy matters in the US and EU in such key areas as energy, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, banking and finance, transportation, intellectual property, product safety and liability, trade and antitrust/competition law matters;
• Sovereign and government relations; and
• Sovereign wealth funds.

Representative Matters

Joint Representative Matters in the Middle East

Covington and iQ have assisted a wide-range of Middle Eastern, US and European clients either entering new markets in the Middle East, or addressing issues involving established business operations in the region.  For Middle Eastern clients seeking to do business in the US and globally, Covington and iQ have provided expert and specialized assistance in many areas.

• Advising Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance in preparation of comments on the IP and E-Commerce chapters of the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement.
• Advising Agelef, the international shipping company, on tax and corporate matters relating to its commercial presence in Qatar and long-term LNG transportation contracts throughout the world.
• Acting as Gulf Counsel in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar to Morgan Stanley on an international infrastructure fund.
• Advising Bain Capital, the Boston-based private equity firm, on a major securities listing in Jordan.
• Representing, before the President, Prime Minister and senior officials of Pakistan, US and EU companies seeking stronger intellectual property rights protection.
• Advising an oil company on sanctions compliance and conflicting oil claims in Southern Sudan.
• Coordinating an internal investigation for a leading multinational industrial company on compliance with Middle East trade sanctions programs, and representing the company before the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Commerce.
• Advising Lockheed Martin, the US-based defense company, in a state-wide surveillance contract with the Government of Qatar.
• Advising Siemens LLC on its establishment in Qatar, including major matters such as tax and government defense contracts.
• Advising Tepe-Akfen Ventures (TAV), the Turkish-based construction company, with their involvement in the building of the new Cairo International Airport.
• Advising the Saudi Government on a BOT contract with a French-based multinational industrial group for King Abdullah’s Equestrian Club in Jeddah, the largest and most complex Islamic finance project of its time.
• Advising on the creation of the Qatar Financial Center (QFC) International Civil and Commercial Court, the first common law court in the Middle East.
• Representing Office Chérifien des Phosphates of Morocco in the negotiation of US, Indian, Indonesian, and Canadian joint venture and commercial supply arrangements.
• Advising SABIC and GE on the acquisition of the GE Plastics business.
• Representing The Carlyle Group in the sale of Landmark Aviation and Standard Aero to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise.
• Advising the Qatar Supreme Economic Council as the lead legal counsel for the establishment of a new single financial services regulator, in addition to evaluating the nation-wide legal regime regarding financial services.
• Advising the Economic Development Board of Bahrain on its overall legal infrastructure, including the new telecommunication strategy for Batelco.
• Advising the Saudi Government on the drafting of the Investment Law for the Saudi Government’s creation of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).
• Advising the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo to undertake a legal environment evaluation project for philanthropy in the Arab World.
• Advising on the financing, creation and incorporation of the Arab Democracy Foundation (ADF), the first Arab non-governmental organization promoting democracy and civil society.
• Acting as instructing attorney on the creation of the Sidra Medical Research Center, the $8.7 billion state of the art specialty teaching hospital.
• Representing the Offset Program Bureau, an agency of the government of the UAE, in its acquisition of the business of John Rigby & Co., a California-based manufacturer of sporting rifles.
• Advising on potential US investments for TAQA.
• Acting as co-counsel to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the ICSID cases, JacobsGibb Limited v. Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and ATA Construction, Industrial and Trading Company v. Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.