Greenberg Traurig's UAE office Co-Managing Shareholder and Co-Head of the Firm's Middle East Real Estate and Hospitality Practice Sarah Mahood was recognized as a Real Estate Lawyer of the Year at The Legal Benchmarking Group's 2025 Women in Business Law EMEA Awards.
DUBAI, UAE, June 26, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Greenberg Traurig's UAE office Co-Managing Shareholder and Co-Head of the Firm's Middle East Real Estate and Hospitality Practice Sarah Mahood was recognized as a Real Estate Lawyer of the Year at The Legal Benchmarking Group's 2025 Women in Business Law EMEA Awards. The awards ceremony was held June 25 at The Waldorf Hilton, Aldwych, London.
Now in its 15th year, the Women in Business Law Awards strive to recognize the most outstanding legal practitioners across a broad swathe of corporate finance, corporate/commercial, intellectual property, tax, and disputes practice areas. Following months of in-depth research, the 2025 results honor the exceptional achievements of individual lawyers and the law firms that provided the best platforms and environments to support legal talent across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
The firm was also shortlisted for:
Poland Firm of the Year
MENA Firm of the Year
Diverse Women Lawyers – Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA)
Thought Leader of the Year – CEEMEA – Sarah Mahood
Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Lawyer of the Year – Viola Bensinger
Labour & Employment Lawyer of the Year – Meira Ferziger
Litigation Rising Star – Izabela Szponar
"Sarah is a pioneer in the Real Estate and Hospitality industry, with more than 22 years of experience advising on flagship projects regionally and internationally," said Richard A. Rosenbaum, Executive Chairman of Greenberg Traurig. "Together with Co-Head of the Firm's Middle East Real Estate and Hospitality Practice Stephen Kelly and the broader team, they have been at the forefront of leading the charge in the Middle East. With the institutional support of Greenberg Traurig's global network of over 700 real estate lawyers whose expertise and resources they draw upon for cross-border transactions, we are reinforcing our position as leaders in this market."
Khalid A. Al-Thebity, Middle East Regional Chair and Managing Shareholder of Greenberg Traurig's Kingdom of Saudi Arabia office (KSA), added, "The regional Real Estate and Hospitality team operate at the highest levels advising on complex real estate, development, and hospitality mandates. I am very proud to see Sarah recognized as the leading Real Estate Lawyer of the Year, not just in the region but across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, a recognition rightly deserved."
Kelly, Co-Head of the Firm's Middle East Real Estate and Hospitality Practice, also added, "This award is testament to Sarah's in-depth expertise and experience in the Real Estate and Hospitality industries providing clients with the highest quality legal advice to navigate the complex and challenging legal landscape throughout the region and beyond - this is a recognition of excellence."
"Collaborating with the regional and international teams at Greenberg Traurig, we have been focused on establishing the region as a pre-eminent destination for investment and growth, based on a holistic strategy, expanding beyond real estate into other key practice areas. The recognition from the Legal Benchmarking Group is greatly appreciated and we would like to take this opportunity to thank our clients for entrusting us to partner with them on their most significant mandates as well as the entire team at Greenberg Traurig for their dedication and commitment. With additional hires into the Middle East Real Estate and Hospitality group expected imminently we are optimistic about the opportunities to come," Kelly and Mahood said in a joint statement.
These results follow the recent recognition of Mahood being identified as an Inspirational Leader by the Inspirational Leaders magazine, recognized for her contribution towards shaping the future of real estate and hospitality industry in the Middle East, Greenberg Traurig being awarded Banking & Finance Team of the Year at the LexisNexis Middle East Legal Awards 2025, and Greenberg Traurig Khalid Al-Thebity Law Firm being recognized as Middle East Law Firm of the Year – Saudi Arabia and Al-Thebity as Law Firm Leader of the Year at ALM International's Middle East Legal Awards 2025. Greenberg Traurig also recently was awarded UAE Technology, Media & Telecoms Law Firm of the Year at the Chambers Middle East 2025 Awards and Law Firm of the Year — UAE at The Oath Middle East Legal Awards, in addition to be shortlisted for numerous other awards at those events.
Greenberg Traurig launched in the Middle East in 2023 with offices in the KSA and UAE. Since then, the firm has been growing steadily in the region, planting roots in the key industries and business sectors most active in the Middle East, including Real Estate; Infrastructure & Transportation; Energy & Natural Resources; Hospitality; Finance & Restructuring; Mergers & Acquisitions; Private Equity; Private Credit; Sports & Entertainment, including venue, talent, entertainment, licensing, and other needs; Capital Markets; Disputes; and White Collar & Investigations.
Greenberg Traurig's United Arab Emirates office is operated by Greenberg Traurig Limited.
Media Contact
Joey Kaiser, Greenberg Traurig, +1 212.801.6983, [email protected], gtlaw.com
SOURCE Greenberg Traurig
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