Al Tamimi &amp; Company, the largest independent law firm in the Middle East, has announced the appointment of partner Sami Fakhoury who joined the firm’s Banking &amp; Finance practice in the Doha, Qatar office, on the 1<sup>st</sup> March of 2011. This follows the appointment in January 2011 of Jay Fortin, one of the leading infrastructure &amp; power lawyers in the Middle East, who joined from Patton Boggs to head up the Qatar office.

Sami Fakhoury specializes in structured and project finance and has expertise across a wide range of financing transactions including; acquisition, project, syndicated lending and asset based finance, where he has represented large financial institutions as well as corporate groups in high profile European and cross-border financial and LBO transactions. Mr. Fakhoury has also represented major public and private companies in debt restructuring and syndicated lending along with advising leading Middle East groups on project finance transactions and infrastructure acquisitions.

Prior to joining Al Tamimi &amp; Company, Sami Fakhoury spent 7 years in the Paris office of Gide Loyrette Nouel, a top French Law Firm, before leading their Dubai office for the past two years. He will utilise his significant Middle East experience to maintain Al Tamimi’s position as one of the leading finance firms in Qatar and extend their penetration in the project and infrastructure sectors in this dynamic market.

Commenting on his appointment Sami Fakhoury said: "I am delighted to be joining the leading law firm in the Middle East at this time of growth in Qatar. Al Tamimi has a reputation for excellence which is unrivalled in the region, and there are significant opportunities for growth in Qatar and across the MENA region."

Essam Al Tamimi, Senior Partner added: “I am pleased to welcome an exceptional lawyer of Sami’s calibre to the team. Qatar is a key market for us and Sami’s experience and expertise in the MENA market will help us with our strategy to grow our infrastructure and finance presence here.”