DUBAI – March 21, 2024 – Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP continues to expand its real estate and hospitality capabilities in the Middle East with the addition of two associates in its Dubai office.
As the newest members of Greenberg Traurig’s Middle East Regional Real Estate and Hospitality Practice, Senior Associate Samantha Shaw and Associate Dani French will assist clients with a wide range of real estate, development, and hospitality matters across the Middle East and internationally.
The practice, led by Real Estate Shareholders Sarah Mahood and Stephen Kelly, commenced operations in the UAE from the firm’s Dubai office in September 2023. Together with Of Counsel Rebecca Comerford, the team continues to maintain its top-tier standing in the region.
“We are incredibly excited to have Sam and Dani join our leading practice to further support our key strategic clients in the Middle East and North Africa region,” said Mahood, co-managing shareholder of the UAE office and co-head of the firm’s Regional Real Estate and Hospitality Practices. “Greenberg Traurig has quickly built one of the largest devoted real estate teams in the region, and these latest additions demonstrate our commitment to strategically growing our presence across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”
Shaw, who joins from White & Case in Dubai, has significant experience with acquisitions and dispositions of large-scale commercial and industrial properties across the UAE, as well as with musataha agreements and ground-lease developments. She has advised on master community and mixed-use developments and has assisted clients with several hospitality projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Having practiced in Dubai for nearly a decade, she has worked on behalf of an array of clients, including master developers, government organizations, sovereign wealth funds, hotel owners, and private companies.
French, previously an associate at Ashurst in Sydney, focuses her practice on the commercial real estate, energy, and hospitality and tourism sectors. Her commercial real estate experience includes assisting clients in connection with conveyancing and due diligence related to major property acquisitions and corporate transactions disposals. She also has deep experience advising on multiple large scale commercial leases across Australia and New Zealand. In the energy sector, French worked closely with an Australian clean energy developer on projects concerning land acquisition rights for solar farm developments and BESS facilities and served in-house with a regional electricity provider in New Zealand.