Ashurst is strengthening its Middle East projects practice with the addition of partner Bilal Rana, who will be based in Riyadh. He joins from Clifford Chance, where he has been a part of the project finance group since 2014. Rana specialises in advising regional and international financial institutions, borrowers and sponsors on Islamic finance and project finance transactions. He began his career at Linklaters in London in 2005, prior to moving to Saudi Arabia in 2009 with Baker & McKenzie.
Davis Polk has added Ken Lebrun as a partner in the Tokyo office. Lebrun joins from Shearman & Sterling, where he was a partner in the M&A practice based in Tokyo. His practice focuses on public and private cross-border M&As, joint ventures, strategic alliances and private equity transactions. He has represented major Japanese companies and financial institutions on many of their largest and most significant transactions. A Japanese speaker, Lebrun is admitted in New York and is a registered foreign lawyer in Japan. He serves as chair of the foreign direct investment committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
