Enayat Qasimi, Experienced Middle East Lawyer, Joins Whiteford, Taylor & Preston's D.C. Office
Washington, D.C. - Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP is pleased to announce that Enayat "Yat" Qasimi has joined the firm as a partner in our Washington, D.C. office, where he will focus on providing general business and corporate advice to foreign and domestic corporations, cross-border mergers & acquisitions, emerging market private equity, venture capital, off-shore transactions, and bilateral and multilateral international contracts.
Previously an attorney in Whiteford, Taylor & Preston's Baltimore office, Qasimi left the firm to serve as Senior Legal Adviser to the President of Afghanistan, his native country, and assisted with the enactment of Afghanistan's Constitution. He served subsequently as the Minister of Civil Aviation and Transport for the Government of Afghanistan and then became the Senior Foreign Affairs Advisor to the President of Afghanistan.
In 2006, he became the Group General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Swicorp, a Middle East based investment banking firm, where he focused on the firm's expansion and restructuring as well as cross-border M&A and private equity transactions throughout the Middle East/North Africa region and South Asia.
In addition, Qasimi has extensive experience in the humanitarian and development sectors and has worked for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) as well as on various projects sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2002, he served as a consultant with the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) to help with the drafting and enactment of the laws governing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Afghanistan.
Qasimi earned his J.D. from the University of Maryland Law School and served as Associate Editor of The Business Lawyer. He graduated with his B.A. in Economics from Bard College and has an M.B.A. from the University of Baltimore. He is fluent in Farsi/Dari, Pashto, and Urdu and has working knowledge of Arabic.
"We are excited to have Yat rejoin the firm and help expand our services in the Middle East and North Africa region. His deep international experience coupled with his strong client responsiveness mesh well with our mission to provide innovative solutions and strategies in the global marketplace," noted Albert J. Mezzanotte, Jr., managing partner of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston.
Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP is dedicated to helping clients to achieve their business goals through strategic legal counsel. With six offices in the mid-Atlantic region, we serve clients across the nation and around the globe, wherever your business takes us. For more information, please visit our website at www.wtplaw.com.