Paul Hastings hits White & Case again in 'game-changing' infra bench build-out

Paul Hastings has poached two more energy and infrastructure partners from White & Case as part of its aggressive expansion in the Middle East, hiring M&A specialist Stefan Mrozinski and projects lawyer Habeeb Rahman in Abu Dhabi.

The duo join as partners, bringing the firm’s total partner hires to seven since 1 April, as Paul Hastings looks to establish itself as a major player in the energy and infrastructure space across Abu Dhabi, London and Paris.

The latest additions follow a run of hires from White & Case, including Abu Dhabi co-heads Din Eshanov and George Kazakov, as well as Paris partner Xavier Petet.

The hiring spree started in April, just weeks after Paul Hastings lost high-profile London infrastructure duo Jessamy Gallagher and Stuart Rowson to Freshfields, exits that seem to have sharpened the firm’s focus on international growth.

Bigger picture

At the time of the Abu Dhabi office launch, Bloomberg noted that Paul Hastings' Middle East push may be tied to emerging opportunities in AI infrastructure.

Firm veteran Martin Edelman serves as general counsel to Abu Dhabi-based AI firm G42 and sits on the board of GlobalFoundries, a major chipmaker backed by the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund - connections that could give the firm a strategic edge as tech investment surges across the region.

What they said

"We are delighted to reunite with many former colleagues on the Paul Hastings platform and continue building our presence in Abu Dhabi. It’s exciting to join the firm at such a pivotal moment in its expansion", said Mrozinski.

Office co-head Kazakov said: "Their arrival boosts the momentum of our Abu Dhabi-based practice, and their experience is additive to our broader Middle East strategy, which is focused on helping to expand the reach of European investors into the Middle East and to facilitate investments from the region into Europe."