Andrew Walsh
General counsel
Qatari Diar
Projects and construction partner Andrew Walsh joined Qatari Diar as acting general counsel from Speechly Bircham, where he was a partner. He was on secondment to Qatari Diar when he was offered the in-house role permanently in March 2011.
Qatari Diar is controlled by the Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund specialising in foreign and local investment. Walsh’s first major task was putting together the first legal panel for Qatari Diar, a process that finally concluded in 2012 and contained a mammoth 13 firms. 49 firms were invited to tender and little wonder they did: Qatari Diar is a dream client for law firms with a portfolio of approximately 50 projects worth in the region of $35bn.
Law firms used: Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Baker & McKenzie, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Clifford Chance, Eversheds, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Latham & Watkins, Nabarro, Norton Rose, Patton Boggs, Simmons & Simmons
March 2011-present: General counsel, Qatari Diar
2005-11: Partner, Speechly Bircham
1993-2005: Partner, Pinsent Masons
1983-93: Partner, Cameron McKenna