Highlighted as ‘one of the largest and most comprehensive international law firms in the UAE’, Clifford Chance advises on the full spectrum of debt and equity capital markets, acting on sovereign and corporate issuances, structured products, regulatory capital and ESG mandates. The Dubai-based team also provides integrated derivatives and Islamic structuring expertise, and regularly advises underwriters on UAE and Saudi IPOs. Team head Stuart Ure is highly experienced in DCM matters, while co-head Omar Rashid focuses on ECM work. Fellow co-head Cheuk Yin Cheung frequently advises on bespoke debt instrument issuances, and Terrence Moloney adds U.S. securities expertise. Massimiliano Valli, Nader Koudsi, and Pearl Mahaga provide broad support across the practice.

Latham & Watkins LLP ‘stands out as one of the most impressive in the region‘, praised for its ‘mastery of complex regulatory frameworks, disclosure obligations, and cross-border structuring challenges’. The firm advises corporates, financial institutions, and sovereign entities on major ECM and DCM mandates across the Middle East, spanning UAE and Saudi IPOs, high-yield bonds, sukuk structures, and liability management. Team head Nomaan Raja advises across a broad range of DCM and ECM transactions, including conventional and Sukuk issuances, equity offerings and restructurings. Basil Al-Jafari is routinely sought out by regional corporates and sovereign-related entities for DCM work. David Hayward and Lois Pickering also come recommended.

Linklaters advises on a broad range of ECM and DCM mandates across the UAE and wider Middle East, acting for sovereigns, financial institutions and major corporates. The team handles IPOs, sukuk, regulatory capital instruments, liability management and cross-border debt issuances, and is frequently engaged on first-of-kind or highly structured transactions in emerging regional markets. The team is led by Jonathan Fried, Dalia Nammari and Jason Manketo. Fried acts for a impressive roster of regional financial institutions on multi-billion dollar issuances, Nammari is considered an expert in Islamic financing, and Manketo provides crucial U.S. securities capabilities. Sergey Shiposha widely supports.

White & Case LLP maintains a full-service, on-the-ground capital markets team in the UAE, covering DCM, ECM, Islamic finance, structured finance, private credit, and green bonds. The team acts for sovereigns, corporates, and financial institutions on IPOs, sukuk, convertible bonds, private credit refinancings, and complex cross-border securitisations. The practice is co-led by Debashis Dey and Sami Al-Louzi, with the former recognised for his DCM capabilities and ability to handle complex, cross-border private credit transactions, and the latter for his skill in ECM matters, recently handling high-profile IPOs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Roger Gaspard is often instructed on big-ticket IPOs, while Xuan Jin focuses on conventional and Islamic debt finance transactions.

Praised as a ‘clear stand-out firm across the GCC‘, Al Tamimi & Company supports sovereigns, corporates and financial institutions on work spanning IPOs, secondary offerings, sukuk, bonds and structured issuances. Team head Andrew Tarbuck is highlighted as ‘a leader in his field with deep connections in the local market’, equally comfortable acting on complex DCM and ECM mandates. Husam Hourani is highly experienced advising on listings across the Dubai Financial Market, Nasdaq Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Rafiq Jaffer also focuses on DCM transactions and acts for a wide array of investors and financial institutions.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton acts for sovereigns, corporates and investment banks on IPOs, rights issues, block trades and international debt offerings. Its Abu Dhabi practice is led by a deep bench of UK- and US-qualified partners with regional experience, advising on UAE listings and cross-border transactions and supporting clients on novel regulatory and execution issues. Mike Taylor leads the team after joining from Clifford Chance in January 2025 and brings a proven track record on complex ECM transactions. Co-heads Gamal Abouali and Mohamed Taha have extensive capital market practices that cover a range of regional and international markets and a variety of financial products. Kay Hechaime often acts as underwriters counsel.

Gibson Dunn maintains a prominent issuer-side practice in the UAE, advising on offerings across the Dubai Financial Market and ADX, including Delivery Hero and talabat on its $2 billion initial public offering at the close of 2024. Its ECM specialists handle multi-jurisdictional structuring, regulatory engagement and execution for regional corporates, sovereign-linked entities and international shareholders. Team head Marwan Elaraby helms big-ticket IPOs and issuances and is noted by clients as an ‘exceptional partner’ who is ‘well-connected across the market and with all relevant market participants.’ Ibrahim Soumrany‘s practice covers equity offerings and Islamic and conventional debt offerings. Jade Chu and Omar Morsy widely support.

Akin advises financial institutions and corporates on debt and equity capital markets transactions across the MENA region, including regulatory capital issuances, ESG bonds, sukuk and securitisations. Rizwan Kanji leads the practice and is a trusted advisor to major financial institutions, corporates and sovereigns across the region, with a particular focus on the Turkish market. Nicola Minervini is active across both conventional and sukuk transactions, while Sahar Abas has a strong track record advising Turkish industry players on DCM matters.

Greenberg Traurig Limited significantly strengthened its UAE capital markets platform in 2025 with the hire of a team from Dentons, including Alex Roussos, James Osun-Sanmi, Sana Siddiqui, and Katie Phillips. Roussos now co-leads the practice with Pawel Szaja, both advising on a wide range of financial products, with Roussos’ expertise in Islamic debt capital markets particularly valued. Osun-Sanmi is another key figure in the practice for sukuk transactions and Shari’a compliant restructurings.

Hadef & Partners supports UAE issuers on IPOs, capital raisings and corporate governance matters, acting for companies across sectors including aviation, healthcare, energy and food production. Group lead Yasser Omar is able to advise clients across a range of transactions, including IPOs, mergers, innovative share swap transactions, and local regulatory matters. Mahmoud El Gharabawy primarily focuses on ECM mandates, while Marwan Abdel Hamid has been active on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange listings.

Acting for sovereigns, banks, and corporates, and with integrated US and local securities expertise, Norton Rose Fulbright advises on complex debt and equity transactions, including IPOs, secondary offerings, Sukuk, MTN programmes, and structured products. Team lead Hamed Afzal is regularly instructed on complex capital markets transactions, including share swaps, public takeovers and novel debt issuances.