Baker Botts L.L.P., a leading international energy, technology and life sciences law firm, has significantly expanded its Middle East footprint with the addition of two powerhouse partners, Joza Al Rasheed and Alexander Currie in Riyadh. Joza will also serve as Partner in Charge of the Riyadh office. Both join from Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, where Joza was Managing Partner of their Riyadh office.
Their arrival marks a pivotal moment in Baker Botts’ global growth strategy and follows the firm’s recent approval of a Ministry of Justice license in Saudi Arabia. This milestone underscores the firm’s deepening commitment to the Kingdom and its focus on energy, technology, and finance – core sectors of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
Joza, one of the Kingdom’s leading M&A and Capital Markets lawyers, is a dual-qualified lawyer with extensive international and domestic experience. She has played a pivotal role in many of the Kingdom’s most transformative initiatives. She brings deep expertise in complex domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, capital markets, restructuring, and corporate governance, with a distinguished track record across the oil and gas, energy transition, mining, and technology sectors. Her strategic leadership and market insight make her a trusted advisor to both public and private clients.
Alexander, a seasoned partner with 30 years of global experience in energy, natural resources, and infrastructure. His track record spans complex project development, financing, and restructuring across the oil and gas, mining, power and technology sectors. He has advised on some of the largest and most innovative transactions in the energy sector, particularly in LNG, cross-border pipelines, conventional and renewable power, and critical infrastructure. His addition further strengthens the firm’s market-leading practice in energy project development and project finance.
Together, Joza and Alexander bring formidable sector depth to Baker Botts’ Middle East practice, joining an established and talented team in Riyadh that includes partner Shadi Haroon, Chair of the firm’s Global Projects department in the Middle East. Their arrival builds on recent partner additions across the Middle East, London, and the U.S., capping a record year of strategic hires firmwide – more than half of which are based in London and the Middle East – and reflecting the firm’s deliberate, coordinated expansion and strengthened regional platform alongside its UAE offices.
“This is a defining moment for Baker Botts,” said Managing Partner Danny David. “Saudi Arabia is driving the global energy and technology conversation, and we’re all in. With Joza and Alexander joining, we’re strengthening our bridge between the Kingdom and the world’s major business hubs — and positioning Baker Botts at the center of the next wave of transformation.”
“Our expansion in the Kingdom is a natural extension of our global strategy to support corporate clients in their most complex and strategic transactions,” said Samantha Crispin, Chair of the Corporate Department. “It strengthens our cross-border M&A, finance, investment, and capital markets practices, and with Joza and Alexander’s expertise in technology and energy, we’re well-positioned to serve the region’s leading companies as part of our integrated global offering.”
“We are building a full-service energy, technology, and finance platform in Saudi Arabia, and Joza and Alexander are a major expansion of our team, but there is much more to come,” said Jason Bennett, Department Chair for the Global Projects department and Co-Chair of the firm’s Energy Sector. “We are strategically committed to being the go-to firm for major Saudi companies in the energy and technology spaces and for our global clients doing business in Saudi Arabia and in the region. Joza and Alexander are joining a large team in London, Dubai, and the U.S. who are focused on serving those clients.”
Joza added: “I’m honored to join Baker Botts, a firm with a distinguished 25-year legacy in the Kingdom. I look forward to building on that legacy by delivering innovative market leading solutions for our clients, driving growth across the Kingdom’s key sectors, expanding and empowering our Riyadh team, and further strengthening the firm’s Saudi presence and capabilities to solidify Baker Botts’s position as a leading advisor in the Kingdom.”
Alexander said “Clients are pursuing bold, country shaping projects across the Middle East. Our expanded platform allows us to deliver the project development, transactional, and finance expertise they need, in Riyadh, and with our colleagues across and the Middle East and globally.”
As part of its ongoing expansion, Baker Botts has applied for Regional Headquarters (RHQ) status in the Kingdom, underscoring its long-term commitment to Saudi Arabia and its position as a gateway to global capital and innovation.
