Legal Done Right! - Middle East & North Africa
MENA LEGAL was founded two decades ago by lawyers who had previously worked for large international law firms, but who preferred to take their skills to a smaller, international boutique law firm environment in order to lend a more meaningful and direct impact on corporate and commercial law.
At MENA LEGAL, all of our matters are assigned to at least one partner/senior lawyer, who is tasked with direct interaction on the issues at-hand and management of the firm’s expert services, handled in a smooth, efficient and quality-minded manner, in keeping with the best interests of our clients.
Our clients appreciate our lawyers’ many years of hands-on business experience in advising international companies in respect of their investments in Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East.
MENA LEGAL provides proven “One-Stop-Shop” value-added services through its Swiss Association, BREXENDORFF & ASSOCIATES (B&A). B&A boasts a formidable team of lawyers, tax experts, finance and business consultants, investment bankers, wealth management service providers, accountants, insurance experts, strategic consultants and recruitment agents.
The name of MENA LEGAL, is derived from Pharaoh Mena, the legendary first king of a unified Egypt, who ruled over a single, centralized monarchy in around 3100 B.C. Pharaoh Mena was responsible for the drafting of history’s first legal codification of law, thousands of years before Babylonia’s Hammurabi and the later legal codes of the West, like the Magna Carta. This feat of clerical skill and political power was immortalized in inscriptions and drawings, only discovered in recent decades. It is in this tradition of the rule of law and the building of a civil society that MENA LEGAL, as a firm, takes its inspiration.
MENA LEGAL, with its multi-national network of law offices, is part of the Zurich-based Swiss association of BREXENDORFF & ASSOCIATES (B&A). B&A is an international association of lawyers, tax experts, finance and business consultants, investment bankers, wealth management service providers, accountants, insurance experts, strategic consultants, recruitment agencies, and fintech and blockchain experts. It provides all of its members with a readily-available and very active, trusted network of professionals to better serve client needs.
The development of the MENA LEGAL and B&A service portfolios has coincided with increasing commercial interest in the Middle East and Africa, regions in which the firm, its lawyers and other professionals, have been specialized for almost 30 years.
The practice of the respective offices of our law firm and B&A members is designed to address the needs of inbound foreign investors doing business in an environment where the laws, customs and economic conditions are often significantly dissimilar from those experienced at home. To this end, it is important to rely not only on legal expertise, but also on an in-depth knowledge of the local business cultures and customs present in the various regions in which our members are based.
Our lawyers and B&A members support clients with a business- and results-orientated approach, tailored to a client’s individual needs; from the initial planning phase to negotiations, completion of the transaction, the day-to-day operational issues, as well as all sorts of matters in-between.
Within MENA LEGAL and the B&A Swiss Association structure, lawyers and business consultants cooperate closely with various experts to offer our clients value-added services. Our B&A association may refer to other professional consultants, including investment bankers, wealth management service providers, accountants, insurance experts and recruitment agencies. Among others, we have established successful partnerships with providers of trust, tax and accounting services, as well as recruitment agencies and Fintech experts with international expertise.
Within MENA LEGAL and the B&A Swiss Association structure, lawyers and business consultants cooperate closely with various experts to offer our clients value-added services. Our B&A association may refer to other professional consultants, including investment bankers, wealth management service providers, accountants, insurance experts and recruitment agencies. Among others, we have established successful partnerships with providers of trust, tax and accounting services, as well as recruitment agencies and Fintech experts with international expertise.
Member of Swiss Association
HDS Business Centre – Cluster M – Jumeirah Lakes Towers – Dubai
Dr. Alexander Brexendorff is an entrepreneur / owner and managing director of various legal, business and Fintech consulting companies in Europe and the Middle East. He is as well the founder and head of the board of the Swiss and UAE based international business and legal Swiss Association Brexendorff & Associates.
He has over twenty years of international experience in business consulting, legal and Fintech services with a deep and comprehensive legal and practical knowledge of Europe, the Former Soviet Union, the Middle East and beyond.
Holding an honors Ph.D. in hydrocarbon public international law, he started his career during the DOTCOM boom at the financial markets department of Shearman & Sterling LLP in Frankfurt, moved on to the international energy agency, Energy Charter Secretariat, in Brussels, joined later the Coudert Brothers LLP Middle East Practice Group before he founded one of the most prestigious European-Middle East Boutique Legal, Business, Renewable Energy and Fintech consultancies.
Fluent in: German, English, Russian
Basic knowledge in: Spanish, French, Arabic
Dr. Brexendorff regularly publishes articles and gives seminars with practical advice on European, Middle Eastern business laws, in particular on Renewable Energies, Fintech, Blockchain related regulations.
Francesca Romana Valeri was born in province of Rome (Italy) and graduated in Law in the University LUMSA of Rome in 2013.
Based in UAE, she is active in Europe and in the Middle East as Legal Counsel since 2018 with a prior knowledge in legal advice & consultation in Corporate Law, Commercial law and Italian Civil Law and with a strong experience in the International Construction Contracts and Contract Negotiation.
Over the last 7 years she dedicated herself in deepening the knowledge of international contracts’ field also by actively taking part to contract negotiations all over the world.
Italian (Native Languages), English (Fluent), French and Spanish (basic knowledge)
Christian was born in Pretoria, South Africa and after traveling the world and attending school in 7 different countries he ultimately graduated with a British law degree in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Based in the Emirates for the past 6 years, Christian previously worked as a legal officer at an upcoming digital bank with a wide range of responsibilities from regulatory, compliance, contractual to intellectual property and anti-money laundering aspects.
Christian’s experience and knowledge of the financial sphere in particular in fintech, blockchain, and traditional banking allows for a prominent understanding of all aspects that surround company set-up, operations and transactions in particular in the new segments of crypto, NFT, Metaverse and challenger banks.
Afrikaans (Native Language), English (bilingual, first language)
Baden was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania but has been mainly based in the Middle East with a 14-year presence in the region, attaining his Bachelors of Law Degree in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
During his time in Dubai, Baden previously worked within private law firms in UAE across various departments including but not limited to corporate, labour, intellectual property. He also possesses experience in the public sector with his time at the Resident Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania as well as also working with parastatal organisations, further exemplifying his versatility. His experience has allowed him to attain a good knowledge of company functions and compliance needed in relation to
different regulations.
Swahili (Native Language), English (bilingual, first language)
Sven Röthlingshöfer is a German business attorney (Rechtsanwalt) by profession and a real estate and hospitality project development specialist with over 25 years of international experience. He has been practicing as a foreign Legal Consultant in the Emirate of Dubai since 1998.
Sven was involved in the development and delivery of several of Dubai’s well-known real estate and hospitality projects.
During his initial 9 years in private practice at Ja’afar Alwan, Al Jaziri & Associates, one of Dubai’s leading National Law Firms, he advised European companies on their business ventures and investments throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Key areas of specialty include foreign direct investments, cross-border joint-ventures, re-structuring, distribution and industrial projects, real estate projects, hospitality projects as well as international litigation and arbitration.
Since the opening of the real estate market in Dubai to foreign investors, Sven has been advising international property developers on residential, commercial and hospitality projects in the Emirate of Dubai.
Sven also acted as an Arbitrator and Expert Witness and as a Board Member of an Owners’ Association of a large hybrid project. From 2007 until 2021 he accepted assignments as General Counsel of two privately owned property development companies in the Emirate of Dubai. Their project portfolio included the development, completion and hand-over of a large commercial property in Dubai Downtown, the Kempinski Residences & Hotel Apartments Palm Jumeirah and the hotels of EPG Hotels & Resorts, which are now rebranded as the “Raffles the Palm Dubai” and the “Hyde Hotel Business Bay”.
Germany, since 1996
Germany, since 2002
Law Studies, Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-University of Frankfurt
Law Studies, New York University
German, English, French
Germany, since 1999
