With more than 30 years' experience of Islamic financing, coupled with geographical reach, industry knowledge and financial product expertise that few firms can match, White & Case is the premier choice in the structuring and implementation of financial transactions compliant with Islamic law.

Our dedicated Islamic Finance Unit includes lawyers based primarily in our Abu Dhabi, London, New York, Riyadh and Singapore offices, drawn from a broad variety of practices, including asset finance, banking, capital markets, corporate, investment funds, mergers and acquisitions, project finance and telecoms, media and technology.

These lawyers have been actively involved in ground-breaking Islamic finance transactions. Several members are fluent in Arabic, were trained in the Sharī'a at leading academic institutions and have resided for considerable time in the Middle East and elsewhere in the Islamic world.

Trusted Advisor to Top Institutions and a Market Leader in Sharī'a-compliant Project Financing
Our Islamic Finance Unit advises clients both in and outside the Middle East on issues of Islamic law across a broad range of industries, practices and products, frequently on transactions that break new ground and shape markets. We regularly represent financial institutions that provide Sharī'a compliant financing, whether as equity participants, lessors or in some other transactional role.

In particular we have a distinguished track record in integrating Islamic financing into major project financings and have acted on several landmark Islamic-financed project financings in the Middle East. Historically, Islamic financing structures have not been utilized to a significant extent internationally in very large-scale project financings. However, this situation is rapidly changing. Our considerable experience in conventional international project financing, our knowledge of Islamic financing structures and our strong relations with investment bankers and Sharī'a scholars place us in an excellent position to address and resolve the issues that arise in integrating any Islamic financing component into the overall structure of a large international project financing.

In addition to Islamic finance within project financings our experience includes advising clients on: the use of an 'adl; ijāra, ijāra wa l-'iqtinā, istisnā', mudāraba and murābaha contracts; takāful structures; bay' al-'arbun transactions; various forms of commodity trade transactions; standard form documentation; and investment funds and unit linked products.

Groundbreaking Transactions
White & Case's recent work includes:

Banking

• Counsel on the development of a takāful structure that involves the marketing of risk-based and unit linked products
  
• A groundbreaking $2.875 billion Islamic financing facility, based on mobile telephone airtime
  
• An Islamic Murābahā based facility of up to $2.5 billion as part of a $7 billion financing package for the purchase of a telecommunications licence

Investment Funds

• Acting in connection with the structuring and marketing of a series of investment funds in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait with aggregate subscriptions exceeding $600 million
  
• Advising on the establishment of a $750 million Islamic Infrastructure Fund
  
• Acting in connection with the formation of a Shari'ah-compliant fund to make real estate investments in Bahrain

Project financing

• The first-ever long-term Islamic project financing
  
• The first Islamic project financing in Oman
  
• The largest Islamic project financing in Saudi Arabia at its time

M&A

• The largest-ever M&A transaction in Islamic banking

Sukuk

• The first true-sale securitisation in the Gulf Cooperation Council
  
• The second only ever completed global Islamic securities issue

Awards and Accolades

• Middle East Islamic Infrastructure Deal of the Year 2007, Project Finance Magazine
  
• Islamic Project Finance Deal of the Year 2007, Euromoney Islamic Finance Awards
  
• Saudi Arabian Deal of the Year 2007, Islamic Finance News
  
• Most Innovative Deal of the Year 2007, Islamic Finance News
  
• Best Tawarruq Deal of the Year 2007, Islamic Finance News