Abdullah Al Shelikhi Alanezi is a Saudi Lawyer and he is the Founder Partner of ALF LAW FIRM PLLC. He is a seasoned Saudi lawyer specializing in business, foreign investment laws and IP law. With over 19 years of experience (since 2001) both as in-house counsel in various governmental bodies and as a lawyer and accredited arbitrator in private practice. He has set up his own law firm in Riyadh in 2006, following his resignation from his position as Public Prosecutor and as a member of the judicial committee in charge of adjudicating disputes relating to commercial instruments within the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and he currently focuses his practice on litigating intellectual property and aviation cases and advising Saudi and foreign companies on their legal affairs from their establishment and throughout their lifetime.

He also undertakes a lot of M&A work and advises companies on the divestiture of their assets and shares.
He enjoys a great deal of experience preparing and negotiating commercial, construction, contracting and government procurement contracts.
Abdullah has represented several high profile Saudi and foreign companies in court with a high rate of success in various matters (IP, Aviation, disputes between shareholders and between shareholders and the board of directors, debt recovery, public procurement cases in accordance with the provisions of the Saudi public Procurement Act, etc…).
He handled a lot of matters pertaining to commercial instruments (checks, letters of exchange, promissory notes, etc…) benefiting from his experience as a former member of the judicial committee having jurisdiction over commercial instruments’ disputes, as well as disputes relating to financial instruments, labor disputes, real estate cases (including a host of cases relating to leases and development projects) as well as cases of unfair competition. 

EXPERIENCE

Managing Partner of ALF Law Firm (Saudi Arabia)

Over 20 years in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Abdullah proceeded to set up his law firm under the name of ALANEZI LAW FIRM using ALF as a registered trademark, and that was following his resignation from the Saudi Ministry of Commerce where he held a judicial position in the committee adjudicating disputes relating to commercial instruments. He has intended from the start that his practice will be business oriented and focused on advising Saudi and foreign investors in their commercial endeavours. is currently involved in a full scale restructuring of the firm designed to meet international industry standards that will enable him in the foreseeable future to tie up with a reputable regional and international law firm interested in investing in Saudi Arabia.

Legal Advisor SPIMACO (Saudi Arabia)

August 2006 – May 2010 Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia In this position, Abdullah supervised the registration of the company’s trademarks, logos, patents and other types of intellectual property rights. He prepared, reviewed and negotiated supply agreements, insurance policies and a host of other labor, lease and non-disclosure agreements.

He also handled the incorporation of the company’s local subsidiaries and liaised with outside counsel with regards to lawsuits filed by or against the company. He also worked extensively on amending the articles of association of the company and its subsidiaries and in his position he interfaced extensively with the Saudi Ministry of commerce and Industry, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, the Saudi Ministry of labor, the Saudi Ministry of Health, the Saudi Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the administrative court.

During his tenure at SPIMACO, Abdullah prepared legal opinions on a wide variety of topics thus assisting the company to operate in accordance with Saudi laws and regulations and also handled several significant court cases on its behalf.

Public Prosecutor & Legal Advisor Ministry of Commerce & Industry (Saudi Arabia)

March 2002 – July 2006 Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in those positions, Abdullah supervised the review of commercial agencies agreements including distributorship and franchise agreements. He studied, requests of companies registration, applications for trademark registration and prosecuted cases on behalf of the Ministry in relation to objections filed against decisions rejecting or accepting such applications and reviewed trademark license and assignment agreements.

He was appointed by the Minister of Commerce by virtue of Ministerial Decree No. 4711 dated November 17th, 2003 as public prosecutor entrusted with the prosecution of all administrative cases pertaining to trademark registration applications and other relevant cases filed by or against the Ministry.

He was also appointed by virtue of Ministerial Decree No.4718 dated July 17th, 2005 as legal advisor entrusted with adjudicating cases in matters of commercial instruments (checks, promissory notes etc…).

He was also appointed by virtue of ministerial Decree No.9191 dated August11th, 2005 as public prosecutor and tasked with prosecuting violations of the Commercial Registry Law and its Implementing Regulations.

EDUCATION

Abdullah holds a L.L.M degrees in in Corporate Law and Finance from Delaware Law School – Widener University USA, and L.LM degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of King Abdulaziz University KSA.  In addition to holding a Bachelor of Law from the College of Law, King Saud University, KSA,  graduated in 2001. Abdullah is fluent in speeking and writing in both Arabic and English.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

- Saudi Bar Association (SBA) under Membership
- Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property

- Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry RCCI

- Accredited arbitrator in matters of commercial arbitration registered with the Saudi Ministry of Justice in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

- Professional License No. 119/27 issued 2006 from Ministry of justice in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

KEY PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

 Participate in the evaluation of the regulations involving women participation in commercial and professional activities; attend related meetings at the Bureau of Experts within the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Commerce and Investment.

 Obtained more than 120 judicial rullings in court cases brought on behalf of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment.

Handed down 80 judicial rullings in cases involving commercial instruments As a member of the commercial instruments disputes settlement committee.

Conducted a series of training sessions to explain the provisions of Saudi laws and regulations to Saudi civil servants.

Won a number of trademark infringement cases before the administrative tribunal in Riyadh on behalf of Apple Computer, Inc.

 Won fourteen trademark infringement cases brought on behalf of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corporation (SPIMACO) against an international pharmaceutical company before the administrative tribunal in Riyadh.

Pleaded several aviation cases on behalf of Action Aviation (a Dubai-based aviation company) against the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA) regarding a breach (nonpayment of rental fees) of operating leases pertaining to helicopters used by the SRCA for emergency medical rescue operations during the floods in the city of Jeddah.

Pleaded cases relating to two contracts for the operation of the Al Khayala private business aviation services (operated by NAS Airlines).

 Managing the legal file for establishing the joint venture of the first driving school for women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.