NEW YORK – Dec. 18, 2023 – Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP accelerates its strategic expansion in the Middle East by adding a top-tier Media, Entertainment & Technology team with deep experience in the region. Shareholder David Bintliff and Senior Associate Lewis Calder, formerly of Bird and Bird, join the United Arab Emirates (UAE) office. They will closely collaborate with the firm’s leading Sports and Entertainment law teams, enhancing and diversifying the practice’s capabilities in the Middle East and around the globe. With the addition of Bintliff and Calder, Greenberg Traurig becomes the largest Sports, Media & Entertainment team in the Middle East.
“Our business model is about going where growth, innovation, and wealth are going and finding excellent, culturally consistent, and entrepreneurial lawyers in each location. And then remaining a unified, collaborative firm focused on a range of strategic industries and practices for which we have become well branded globally. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE perfectly fit our model, today and going forward,” Greenberg Traurig Executive Chairman Richard A. Rosenbaum said.
“In just over six months, Greenberg Traurig has built a strong presence in the region. We continue to attract exceptional attorneys in the practices that meet the needs of the region’s fast-growing business and government sectors, and deepening client demands. As major investments flow into and from the UAE and the Kingdom, we are building strong teams in the real estate and hospitality industry, the financial sector, including Private Equity, Private Credit, Banking, M&A, and Capital Markets, as well as Sports, Entertainment & Media, and others,” Rosenbaum continued.
“We are thrilled to have David and his team – leaders in the media, entertainment, and technology arena – join Steven Bainbridge in our UAE office and strengthen the firm’s already thriving practice,” said Khalid Al-Thebity, the firm’s regional chair of the Middle East. “We are strategically building world class offices with top-tier attorneys to advise major businesses and government entities in the Middle East as well as clients looking to conduct business here. We look forward to great success ahead, collaborating with the firm’s broad multidisciplinary practices locally and around the globe as one united team.”
Bintliff is tasked with delivering the largest media, entertainment, and technology regulatory and commercial projects in the Middle East. He has deep experience advising international governments and private sector players on media, entertainment, and technology licensing, regulation, benchmarking, and consultation projects. In addition to assisting high-profile international clients, Bintliff and his team are regularly asked to advise and assist regional government entities on complex regulatory projects. Over the past year, the team has been assisting several governments and sovereign wealth funds in drafting comprehensive media, entertainment, and technology rules and regulations in the region.
Calder advises clients on key commercial agreements that underpin their businesses, with a particular focus on the media, sports, and entertainment sectors. His practice focuses primarily on contractual matters covering media rights, sponsorship, merchandising, licensing, event management, and player/talent management. Calder also has extensive experience advising on the drafting and interpretation of rules and on wider regulatory matters, in particular involving media regulation in the Middle East, financial regulation in sport, and best practices in sports governance. Prior to his career in law, Lewis was a professional athlete and represented Scotland on the international stage – as a result, he understands the needs of professional sportspeople and the challenges they face when seeking to prolong careers and maximize commercial opportunities.
The Greenberg Traurig Middle East lawyer team to date includes:
Shareholders:
Marwa Al-Siyabi, Corporate
Khalid A. Al-Thebity, Corporate; Regional Chair of the Middle East
Steven Bainbridge, Sports & Entertainment; Co-managing Partner of UAE office
David Bintliff, Technology, Media & Telecommunications
Stephen Kelly, Real Estate, Development & Hospitality
Sean Huber, Corporate
Sarah Mahood, Real Estate, Development & Hospitality; Co-managing Partner of UAE officeChristopher Skipper, Corporate
Campbell M. Steedman, Corporate
Of Counsel:
David A. Colson, Litigation
Rebecca Comerford, Real Estate, Development & Hospitality
Omar Hegazy, Entertainment & Media
Brian J. Vohrer, International Arbitration & Litigation
Associates and Trainees:
Lewis Calder, Media; Sports & Entertainment; Technology, Media & Telecommunications
Andrew Moroney, Sports & Entertainment
Luke Robinson, CorporateHannah Fox, Sports & Entertainment
Lama Al Mogren, Corporate; Real Estate
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2650 attorneys in 47 locations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm is a 2022 BTI “Highly Recommended Law Firm” for superior client service and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 500. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 6.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab. The firm is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e® Energy program and is a member of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: www.gtlaw.com.