CMS builds Islamic Finance Practice with new partner appointment

CMS is pleased to announce the appointment of Shakeel Adli as a partner to the firm’s Banking and Finance practice. He joins from Norton Rose Fulbright.

Shakeel will be based in the Dubai office and brings with him considerable expertise in Shariah compliant corporate lending, real estate finance, asset finance, project finance, trade finance, debt restructurings, product development and debt capital market transactions acting for lenders, borrowers, sponsors and security providers.

Building the Islamic Finance practice for CMS, Shakeel will work globally but have a particular focus on Shariah compliant real estate financings in the UK and Shariah compliant transactions in the Middle East, with additional sector focus on the real estate, hotels & leisure and construction sectors.

Rita Lowe, Head of Banking and Finance for CMS, comments: “We are delighted to welcome Shakeel to CMS. He comes with a wealth of experience in Islamic Finance and his appointment will allow us to further strengthen our finance business across a number of key sectors as well as building on our Middle East platform.”

Commenting on his appointment, Shakeel adds: “I am delighted to join CMS. The strength of the firm’s international platform and, in particular, the recent opening of an office in Tehran offers a great opportunity for me to develop a truly global Islamic Finance business; one which caters to the needs of both existing participants as well as newcomers to Islamic Finance, whether they be Shariah compliant or not”.

Shakeel’s appointment follows Jason Brooks and Thomas Lockley as partners to the firm’s Financial Services & Products Team in London in November.