Ali Shaikley

A Latham corporate deal team led by Bay Area partners Mark Bekheit and Tessa Bernhardt advised on the cross-border, cash and stock transaction accelerating Cadence’s expansion in physical AI and system design and analysis. #LathamTECH https://lw.link/ozBZWG

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Scott Vesel, partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Three Crowns LLP will speak on a panel titled “Beyond Oil: The Middle East’s Bid for Global Arbitration Leadership” at an event organized by the Georgetown International Arbitration Society. The session will examine how the Middle East is emerging as a major hub for international arbitration as the region diversifies its economies and expands cross-border trade. Panelists will discuss key regional developments, including legal reforms, arbitral institutions, and enforcement trends, and what these changes mean for parties, counsel, and arbitrators worldwide. Scott will speak alongside Dr. Dalia Hussein, Samaa Haridi, and May Khoury. The panel will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, 24 February 2026, from 5:30 pm to 6:45 pm at Georgetown Law’s Faculty Lounge, 600 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC. To learn more or RSVP, visit: https://lnkd.in/eeBPAz8E https://lnkd.in/earVvzmy

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The just-announced merger between Ashurst and Perkins Coie becomes the third major tie-up between U.K.- and U.S.-based firms in recent years. B+B’s Cari Brunelle discussed the major factor driving an uptick in mergers—the search for new talent. Read the piece in Law360 Pulse by Aebra Coe and Chris Villani: https://lnkd.in/e5d7CxcS. #LegalIndustry #LawFirmStrategy #LawFirmGrowth #LateralTalent #LawFirmMergers

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The American Lawyer reports on King & Spalding’s strong financial results in 2025, highlighting growth across key metrics and continued expansion in London, Paris, and the Middle East. The coverage points to the firm’s long‑term upward trajectory, with Chairman Robert Hays citing increased demand, productivity, and talent expansion as key drivers.

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Why are equal-treatment provisions sometimes debated in NVCA venture financings? There are two optional provisions in the NVCA Investors’ Rights Agreement that I routinely find myself revisiting in financings: • Underwriting liability limits in a forced registration (Section 2.3) • Equal treatment on IPO lock-up waivers (Section 2.11) What I find interesting about these provisions is not necessarily what they do, but why they can sometimes become points of discussion. Both provisions are fundamentally designed around fairness and clarity in potential future liquidity events. Section 2.3 addresses investor liability in a demand registration scenario. It generally provides that participating investors should only give basic representations regarding ownership of their shares, that their liability should be several rather than joint, and that their exposure should be capped at the amount they actually receive from selling shares. Section 2.11 relates to IPO lock-up agreements. It provides that if the company or the underwriters waive the lock-up for certain stockholders, similarly situated stockholders should have the opportunity to receive the same treatment on a pro rata basis. Importantly, neither of these provisions affects the core economics of a financing. They do not impact valuation, board composition, or operational control. Instead, they focus on how risk and opportunity are allocated among investors if specific future events occur, such as a public offering. In many financings these provisions never become relevant. However, they can meaningfully shape outcomes in the relatively rare situations where they do apply. Curious to hear how other practitioners think about these optional provisions and the justification for including or omitting them in venture financings.

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ICYMI: In a shift in its new partner strategy, Kirkland & Ellis has not announced its newly promoted partners in early October. A firm representative confirmed the firm doesn’t plan to issue a press release announcing new partners this year. According to a source familiar with the firm, Kirkland has been considering not announcing the promotions since so many of the names are nonequity partners and some of them ultimately leave soon after promotions are announced, putting negative attention on the list. Among the 200 names announced in 2024, at least 20 lawyers, or 10%, were not on the firm’s website this week. https://loom.ly/r7chxas

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Greenberg Traurig Launches in Abu Dhabi With Two Latham Partners 🇦🇪 ... Greenberg Traurig, LLP has entered Abu Dhabi, hiring Christian Adams (finance & restructuring) and Chris Lester (M&A & private equity) from Latham & Watkins as co-managing shareholders. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱: ➡️ Adams: Based in the UAE since 2008. He advised Investcorp Capital on its $800M RCF, Brookfield on the Magnati financing, and Dubai Holdings on the $2B pre-IPO financing of TECOM Group. ➡️ Lester: 17 years in the Middle East, led JP Morgan on the three-way bank merger (ADCB, UNB, Al Hilal) and Mubadala on the $15B Emirates Global Aluminium merger. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆: GT executive chairman Richard Rosenbaum said the launch underscores the firm’s focus on organic growth in key financial centres and emerging markets. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁: Abu Dhabi is fast emerging as a priority market for global firms. Paul Hastings, Skadden, Simmons & Simmons and Addleshaw Goddard have all opened there this year. GT joins the race with 3,000 lawyers and $2.6B in revenue.

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MoFo advised SoftBank Group Corp. on a Securities Purchase Agreement with Intel Corporation for a $2 billion investment in Intel common stock. The MoFo deal team advising SoftBank was led by Tokyo corporate partner Ken Siegel, Washington, D.C. capital markets partners Andy Campbell and Justin Salon, together with support from San Francisco corporate partner Eric McCrath and Austin corporate partner Lauren Bellerjeau. Read more: https://gag.gl/TlyasT

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Philippa Wilson explains how Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP’s vacation scheme is run, outlines the firm’s stance on the use of AI in applications, provides insights into what the firm is looking for from its future lawyers and more in this Meet the Recruiter profile. https://lnkd.in/dnmQ3xiD #aspiringlawyer #lawcareers

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High-Profile Lateral Moves Spotlight Litigation Growth Sheppard Mullin’s latest additions, entertainment litigator and commercial litigator, underscore a trend we’re seeing across the market: firms continue to strengthen litigation benches with strategic partner hires in key regions and industries. From Los Angeles entertainment disputes to Houston’s energy sector, firms are competing for talent that brings both niche expertise and trial experience. These moves reflect a broader strategy: expanding capabilities where client demand is strongest. At Illapa, we track these shifts closely. For candidates, understanding where firms are growing provides valuable insight into which practices and markets are opening the most doors. 📩 Interested in exploring how your background aligns with current growth areas? Reach out to hello@illapasearch.com or DM us now! #LegalCareers #LateralMoves #Litigation #AttorneyLife #CareerGrowth #IllapaSearch

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DLA Piper has welcomes Josh Seidenfeld as Chair of the firm’s Northern California Corporate and Securities practice. “Josh’s deep understanding of the life sciences and technology sectors and his roots in Silicon Valley help clients achieve their corporate finance and M&A goals,” said John Gilluly, US Vice Chair and Head of DLA Piper’s Transactional practices. “He benefits clients who drive leading innovation across industries and geographies.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/egh4Vayk #SiliconValley #LifeSciences #technology #CorporateFinance

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Morrison Foerster advised Arlington Capital Partners, a Washington, D.C.-area private investment firm specializing in government-regulated industries, on government contracting matters related to its acquisition of Pond & Company, a full-service design and engineering firm providing regulatory-driven, high-precision services to the federal government and customers across the energy, infrastructure and life sciences industries. https://gag.gl/C0QQPo Alissandra Young McCann

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🌎 A forum-selection clause may weigh against granting international discovery requests in U.S. courts (also known as Section 1782 petitions), the Second Circuit ruled in Banoka v. Elliott Management. Key Facts: 🔹 European hotel owners sought discovery from U.S. investment funds and advisors to support possible litigation against a failed buyer in England 🔹 Parties had agreed exclusively to England & Wales for "any dispute arising out of or in relation to" their exclusivity agreement 🔹 Petitioners argued that the forum-selection clause alone was irrelevant Ruling: U.S. courts may properly consider forum-selection clauses as a factor weighing against Section 1782 discovery ⚖️ , even without evidence that the foreign forum would restrict that information, because the selection of a foreign forum (particularly mandatory and exclusive) suggests the parties' preference for keeping discovery disputes outside the United States. 💡 Takeaway for International Businesses: Forum-selection clauses aren't just about where you litigate—they can also influence discovery strategy. Reach out to discuss more. #InternationalLitigation #Section1782 #ForumSelection

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Bush Seyferth Partner Mahde Y. Abdallah was a panelist at the Institution of Continuing Legal Education’s (ICLE) 2026 Business Law Update. Mahde—alongside co-panelist Zainab Sabbagh (Partner, Warner Norcross + Judd LLP)—provided insight into the latest business law trends including Michigan case law updates, the requirements contracts authority split, and AI advances in the legal space. To watch the recorded panel, click here: https://lnkd.in/eswirAVz

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Breaking: As part of its ongoing regional expansion, Greenberg Traurig, LLP has launched an office in Abu Dhabi, led by former Latham & Watkins partners. Greenberg Traurig has secured a licence to open its 50th global office in the ADGM. It follows the firm's 2023 office openings in Dubai and Riyadh. The new office will be led by Christian Adams, a finance and restructuring partner, and Chris Lester, a corporate and private equity partner, who formerly worked in the Dubai office of Latham & Watkins. Together, they have 34 years of experience in the UAE. "Opening our Abu Dhabi office represents the execution of our growth strategy at its finest," said Richard Rosenbaum, executive chair of Greenberg Traurig. "As the capital city of the UAE, our Abu Dhabi office will complement the accelerated growth that the Middle East is experiencing." "Launching three offices in the Middle East in two years is unique in the market, and few other firms can claim the roster of talent we have in the various sectors most important to growth in the Middle East," added Khalid Al-Thebity, Greenberg Traurig's Middle East chair and Riyadh office managing partner. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eX2qrC4X

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Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, and Sterlington are advising on the $40 billion acquisition of Texas-based Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie by a consortium that includes Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP), Abu Dhabi-based technology investment firm MGX, and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). The $40 billion acquisition, the largest data-center deal on record, highlights the growing role of law firms in structuring cross-border AI and cloud infrastructure transactions and underscores the Gulf region’s rising influence, with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund-backed AI investor MGX among the buyers. Kirkland is advising the consortium of AIP, MGX, and GIP. AIP was founded in 2024 by BlackRock, MGX, Microsoft, and NVIDIA to expand AI infrastructure. It also counts the Kuwait Investment Authority and Singapore-headquartered global investment company Temasek among its anchor investors. Kirkland’s 20-lawyer team was led by Texas-based M&A and private equity partners Melissa Kalka and John Kaercher, and energy and infrastructure partner Andy Calder. Latham is advising Macquarie with a multidisciplinary team of more than 40 lawyers led by New York partners David Beller and Jason Webber. The firm previously advised Macquarie on more than $5 billion of equity co-investments into Aligned and on the initial acquisition and buyout of the original investors. U.S.-based Sterlington is advising Aligned Data Centers' management team, led by executive compensation partner Jeremy Goldstein and M&A partner Christopher S. Harrison, with support from partners Kristy Fields and Michael Gilligan. Full story from Dario Sabaghi: https://lnkd.in/eEUfw-h7

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I enjoyed speaking with Jonathan Carmody at Infralogic about how the Middle East conflict is influencing global LNG dynamics. For downstream markets reliant on imports, geographical diversification is fundamental to any credible energy security strategy. Link to the full article in the comments below. #LNG #energysecurity

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A Kirkland team led by corporate partner Noor Al-Fawzan is advising Jahez International Company on the signing of a Share Purchase and Subscription Agreement where Jahez will acquire 76.56% of the share capital of Snoonu. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eUwjHyAQ

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