Ben Smith

Practice Areas

Ben's areas of focus include:

Foreign Direct Investment: Ben advises clients on expansion into, and operations in, countries throughout the Middle East. Ben has been involved in a number of landmark and high profile FDI projects in the region. He has a detailed knowledge of the legal, regulatory and practical environment in which businesses operate in the region and supports clients in achieving their commercial objectives in a compliant and efficient manner. He has advised extensively on navigating trade and foreign ownership restrictions throughout the region.

Corporate structuring, reorganisation and restructuring: Ben advises clients on the structuring and restructuring of their corporate operations. His clients are typically private and public multinational corporates. He has advised on significant (multi-billion dollar) group reorganisations for global corporates, including tax driven, pre-IPO and post-merger integration projects. Ben also advises clients on solvent and insolvent liquidations and cross border restructuring projects.

Regulatory, compliance, governance and licensing advice: Ben advises on a range of regulatory, compliance, governance and licensing topics associated with FDI and corporate structuring, including competition law, economic substance, customs, import/export regulation, standards and specifications, commercial agency and corporate licensing.

Ben's clients operate in many sectors including automotive, oil and gas, technology, media, pharmaceutical, retail, FMCG and hospitality. He has been appointed to advise administrators/liquidators on Middle East restructuring projects. Ben has been on secondment with a number of clients in the past.

Ben is a regular commentator on developments in the UAE legal market.