Paul Hastings LLP announced today the continued expansion of its transformative international energy and infrastructure team and broader corporate platform with the appointment of mergers and acquisitions lawyer Stefan Mrozinski and projects lawyer Habeeb Rahman as partners in Abu Dhabi. Both join from White & Case LLP.
The two new partners are the latest additions to the game-changing international Energy & Infrastructure team spanning Abu Dhabi, London and Paris that Paul Hastings announced last month, taking the team to seven partners hired since April 1.
The group strengthens the firm’s energy and infrastructure platform and complements its existing U.S. practice, which was ranked #1 overall for project finance in North America in IJGlobal’s Q1 2025 league tables. The firmwide practice, led by co-chairs Gregory Tan and Rob Freedman, who joined the firm in 2022 in New York, work on mandates ranging from M&A and joint venture transactions to project development/construction and non-recourse financings to restructurings.
“Stefan’s and Habeeb’s appointments mark another significant moment in the strategic expansion of our global energy and infrastructure platform,” said Tan. “Their wealth of experience advising clients in the UAE and beyond on a broad range of corporate transactional projects adds further breadth and depth to our international practice and enhances our ability to meet our clients’ sophisticated and evolving needs globally.”
Mrozinski advises corporates, government-related entities, sovereign wealth funds, private equity investors and family offices on mergers and acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, restructurings and corporate governance. His work spans multiple sectors with particularly deep experience in energy, power, natural resources, tech and infrastructure, focusing on data centers and telecoms. Repeatedly ranked Band 1 in Chambers and recognized in multiple editions of Legal 500 as a “Next Generation Partner,” Mrozinski was also shortlisted for Legal 500’s Middle East and North Africa “Next Generation Partner of the Year” Award 2024.
Rahman has a distinguished track record advising project sponsors, procurers, financial investors and lenders on the development and operation of major energy, oil and gas, petrochemical and infrastructure projects across the Middle East and internationally. He specializes in project development, construction and engineering, O&M and technology licensing matters, regularly guiding clients through complex procurement strategies and high-stakes negotiations. Repeatedly recognized by Legal 500 as a “Rising Star” for UAE Construction, Rahman was awarded “Rising Star of the Year: Construction: Middle East and North Africa” by Legal 500 in 2024.
“Din and I are delighted to have Stefan and Habeeb join our growing team and to work together again,” said George Kazakov, co-head of Paul Hastings’ Abu Dhabi office. “Their arrival boosts the momentum of our Abu Dhabi-based practice, and their experience is additive to our broader Middle East strategy, which is focused on helping to expand the reach of European investors into the Middle East and to facilitate investments from the region into Europe.”
Both Mrozinski and Rahman will be based in Paul Hastings’ new Abu Dhabi office — the firm’s regional hub for serving clients across the UAE, Europe and Asia — and will work closely with Kazakov and Din Eshanov, who joined the firm in April alongside Paris-based partners Xavier Petet and Benoit Thirion, and Abu Dhabi-based partner Ibaad Hakim, who joined earlier this month.
“We are delighted to reunite with many former colleagues on the Paul Hastings platform and continue building our presence in Abu Dhabi. It’s exciting to join the firm at such a pivotal moment in its expansion,” said Mrozinski.
“It is clear that Paul Hastings has a strategic focus on expanding its global offering across the full spectrum of energy and infrastructure. We look forward to collaborating with the team and working with clients across the region on their most complex and high-profile projects,” added Rahman.
About Paul Hastings
With widely recognized elite teams across 17 core practices, Paul Hastings is a premier law firm with a culture of excellence focused on providing intellectual capital and superior execution globally to the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers and corporations. For more information, visit www.paulhastings.com.
