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Ashurst launches its first African office in Casablanca as it welcomes a “stellar team” of multilingual lawyers
One of the world’s leading law firms, Ashurst has been advising on African matters for more than half of its 200-year history. Now its global Africa group will have permanent ‘boots on the ground’, as it officially launched its Casablanca office on 1 December.
The launch this week of global law firm Ashurst’s first Africa office, with a “stellar” new multilingual team in Casablanca, led by project finance and M&A expert Ouns Lemseffer, signals a new phase of growth for Ashurst and an important milestone, says David Charlier, Co-Head of Projects & Energy Transition EMEA at Ashurst.
“Expansion in Africa is the natural next step given Ashurst’s 120-year history in the region,” says Chartier. “I have every confidence in Ouns’ leadership and her abilities to scale our market share in Africa, as well as service clients in this fast-evolving market.”
As reported by Africa Legal in September, Ashurst had secured Lemseffer to be the Managing Partner of its groundbreaking Casablanca office, and Head of Morocco, as the next step in the growth of Ashurst’s longstanding Africa practice. Lemseffer had previously been Africa Practice Leader for Capital Markets, Financial Regulatory & Structured Finance and co-head of Francophone Africa for Clifford Chance.
Yesterday, the new Casablanca office opened, with Lemseffer joined by a team of lawyers that includes senior associates Meriem Komiha and Youssef Tork, and associate Yasmine Hitane. Other arrivals are expected in the coming weeks.
“I am excited to build the firm’s newest office as we officially open in Casablanca, and I am thrilled to be joined by the team,” says Lemseffer. “The Casablanca office is a key component of our Africa strategy, with our team bringing an unmatched mix of the best international standards with a very deep understanding of local laws and close working relationships with the regulators in the markets where we operate."
The opening of the Casablanca office is a natural continuation of Ashurst’s strategy in Africa and strengthens the global firm’s ability to offer integrated support to clients operating between Europe and the African continent, says Noam Ankri, Managing Partner of Ashurst in Paris. He praised Lemseffer for combining the best international standards and unparalleled knowledge of the law, actors and regulators both local and regional in all the markets where we operate. “The arrival of an experienced team on site allows us to combine proximity and international standards, and to provide an agile response to our clients' needs on complex cases.”
The multilingual Casablanca team, complemented by Ashurst's strong Africa team across London, Paris, Madrid and the Middle East, will support clients who operate or invest in the continent across a broad range of project development, financing, structured finance, capital markets and M&A/Private Equity matters.
"There are many opportunities for the firm and our clients, and being on-the-ground means we can continue to seize the significant market opportunities,” says Lemseffer. “I look forward to continuing to advise our clients across the region and globally on the most complex and innovative transactions in Africa.”