Biography
Sara is a member of the first class of female law graduates to study law at a Saudi university and one of the first female lawyers to receive a license to practice law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Sara graduated with Honours from King Abdulaziz University and joined AlGhazzawi & Partners in 2008. Her experience includes advising on dispute resolution, litigation, arbitration, construction disputes, shareholders disputes, Government Tender and Procurement Law, Islamic Shari’ah law, contracts, commercial law, Labour Law and general corporate matters including regulatory matters and corporate governance.
In July 2021, Sara was appointed by the President of the Saudi Bar Association (the Minister of Justice Dr. Walid Al Samaani) as a member in the Lawyers Committee for Makkah Region under the Saudi Bar Association.
Language(s)
- Arabic
- English
Education
- 2010 – LLM in Banking and Financial Law, Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA, USA
- 2008 – Bachelors of Law with Honours, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, KSA
Representative Work
Acting as the lead lawyer for the following key clients:
- A global hotel group on various legal issues including the following:
- representing the client in filing a dispute against the decision issued by the General Authority for Zakat and Tax for the treatment of the client as a permanent establishment under the Saudi Tax Law before the Tax Disputes Committee,
- providing general legal advice in relation to the execution of hotel management agreements for the management and operation of hotels, under the client’s hotel brand names and according to the client’s international standards and specifications, in several regions in Saudi Arabia, and
- providing general legal advice in relation to the operation and management of one of the client’s hotels in Saudi Arabia, which was included in an enforcement action against the hotel owner pursuant to a commercial paper dispute in the amount of approximately SAR 95 million.
- A Fortune 500 company engaged in the food and beverage industry on conducting quarterly legal compliance reviews and reports on their branch office in Saudi Arabia.
- A mega GCC retail franchise operator of more than 75 consumer retail brands in fashion, footwear, food, beauty, home furniture and others, across the Middle East, North Africa and other territories, on various legal issues related to their operation within the Saudi Arabia including: general advice on contracts, Labor Law, disputes and anti-bribery and corruption regulations in Saudi Arabia, and filing a defamation lawsuit and franchise infringement lawsuit.
- A major GCC financial entity on a dispute before the Committee for the Settlement of Banking Disputes related to its offer to become the master developer of a mega government project in Saudi Arabia.
- A large British/American company on various legal issues related to their operation within Saudi Arabia including reporting to the client’s legal department in the UK and their US lawyers (Chadbourne & Parke LLP) on a dispute filed by the Saudi government against the client’s local distributor, advising the client with respect to the regulation of product specifications and standardization, rules regulating commercial promotions, Labor Law and Social Insurance Law, and organizing seminars on the rights and obligations of foreign employees under Saudi law, which was attended by all the foreign employees of the client in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
- A French company on filing involuntary liquidation procedures before court for liquidating its joint venture company in Saudi Arabia following the demise of the local Saudi partner, whose heirs were not residing in Saudi Arabia at the time of the legal action.
- A worldwide renowned jewelry and diamond retail company with respect to their corporate structure reorganization and operation in Saudi Arabia.
Participating on the following matters:
General Commercial / Corporate:
- Advising a multinational consortium on Saudi law issues with respect to their design, build and supply contract in the amount of approximately US $ 5 billion for the development of a major government project.
- Advising a huge Saudi development company on its proposed SAR 2.8 billion rights issue related to a mega development project in Makkah.
- Advising a major Bahraini investment bank on the legal due diligence in the context of US $ 280 million for the acquisition of a Saudi joint stock company.
- Assisting a petrochemical logistics company on its US $ 85 million development of a bulk liquid petrochemical storage and handling business in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
- Advising an international fashion and garments company on the due diligence for the acquisition of shares in the Saudi distributor of the client’s fashion and garments in Saudi Arabia, as part of the client’s acquisitions of shares in the whole group of distributors in the Middle East in the total amount of approximately US $ 67.
- Advising a Saudi fund management company on the acquisition of 40% of the holding company of a renowned perfumes industry chain in Saudi Arabia in the context of SAR 150 million.
- Advising Al Shoula Consortium, the development company of Phase 2 of Al Haramain High Speed Railway Project connecting the two holy cities of Mecca and Madina via Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, which includes a group of Spain’s leading rail and construction companies, on their contracts with the Saudi Railway Organization.
- Assisting a large Asian public-transport services company with its bid for the O&M contract for one of Saudi’s railway projects, providing general legal advice to the client prior to and following the award of the O&M contract, advising the client with respect to the O&M contract to be signed between the client and the Saudi government, negotiating and drafting the client’s agreements with its strategic partners for the works under the O&M contract, and establishing a local company for the client to carry out the O&M contract.
- Advising a world’s leading financial advisory and asset management firm on Saudi securities regulations and its operation in Saudi Arabia.
- Advising a Saudi asset management company, owned by a renowned international banking group, on its investment portfolio management agreement form under Saudi securities regulations.
- Assisting an international travel software company on establishing a company in Saudi Arabia and its on-going legal queries on Saudi laws including Labor Law, Intellectual Property Law and Electronic Contracts Law.
- Advising an international engineering firm on the establishment of an engineering joint venture in Saudi Arabia.
- Assisting a foreign beverage company register its trademark in Saudi Arabia.
- Assisting a Saudi food company with registering its trademarks abroad and coordinating with trademarks lawyers in the countries of registration.
- Assisting a local perfumes factory with its trademark disputes.
- Advising a renowned American information technology company with respect to the cancellation and de-registration of a trademark license agreement for the use of their trademark in Saudi Arabia.
Dispute Resolution:
- Assisting a major Saudi food manufacturing company on its claim before arbitration in the amount of approximately US $ 579 million in connection with the termination of its joint venture with a leading international food products company.
- Advising a group of the heirs of a very well-known Saudi family on inheritance and breach of fiduciary duty under Shari’ah in relation to the dispute that arose between two groups of the heirs themselves, and between the heirs and a leading global financial services firm acting as a manager of the trust involving the heirs’ large estate, which included several companies, trusts, securities and real property in Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and several off-shore commonwealth jurisdiction countries, in the amount of approximately US $ 320 million before the Royal Court of Jersey.
- Advising a renowned Saudi construction company and its subsidiaries with respect to the following cases:
- bringing a claim against its European engineering firm joint venture partner for breach of good faith and non-competition provisions under the shareholders’ agreement and the Saudi Companies Law in arbitration before the ICC, and
- several contracts and subcontracts disputes involving claims for the costs of removing defective works and ratifications, and compensation for damages resulting from inter alia delay, disruption and prolongation, some of which before Saudi courts and others before arbitration (including arbitration cases subject to Saudi Arbitration Law, ICC Arbitration Rules and UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules).
- Advising several major worldwide car manufacturers on their commercial agency and distribution agreements, and on issues with their Saudi agent/distributor, including the negotiation of a settlement agreement for the termination and de-registration of an exclusive distribution agreement.
Bar Admission
- 2021 – Member of the Saudi Bar Association
- 2021 – Member of the Lawyers Committee of Makkah Region
- 2013 – Licensed attorney by the Ministry of Justice in KSA
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