Omar Al-Ali has joined law firm Simmons & Simmons’ trade finance practice, as partner.

He joins from Linklaters London, where he has worked for more than 10 years across banking and finance roles, taking various secondments at international banks.

His areas of expertise include structured finance, acquisition finance, real estate finance and restructuring and insolvency matters and in his new role, he will be focusing on international structured trade and commodity finance and financings into emerging markets.

Sector-wise, Al-Ali has worked extensively across financial institutions, energy and infrastructure in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Simmons & Simmons head of financial markets Jonathan Hammond says: “Omar’s appointment is a key addition to our continued growth in international markets for both financial institutions and energy and infrastructure as two of our five key sector priorities.”

The head of the firm’s London banking group, Alyson Lockett, adds: “Omar’s expertise will greatly enhance opportunities for our clients and our current offering in trade and commodity finance and complement experience across our international financial markets team.”