Pactis Legal · Riyadh
Protecting your deals, containing your legal and regulatory risk
A confidential, technology-enabled legal practice for companies, family groups, founders, and executives — full legal representation, regulatory advisory, and decision support in one place.
PACTIS Legal is a confidential, technology-enabled legal practice in Riyadh. We represent and advise selective clients on their highest-stakes decisions — corporate governance, compliance, enforceable contracts, full legal representation, and cross-border risk — as a single, one-stop home for legal, regulatory, and strategic matters. Confidentiality is engineered in: matters are protected with modern encryption and blockchain-based integrity and run on a secure tracking platform — pairing executive legal judgment with the discipline of modern legal technology.
- Executive judgment
- Institutional confidentiality
- Riyadh
- 25Legal certifications and continuing education
- 5Regulated focus sectors
- AR · ENFull bilingual service
- 5Integrated practice areas
What your business gains
Why Pactis
PACTIS is a selective, founder-led legal and regulatory company in Riyadh, serving Saudi and international companies. We protect your deals, reduce your regulatory and contract risk, and support your board and governance on high-stakes decisions — with institutional confidentiality and executive judgment.
Executive judgment, not just a legal opinion
Every mandate draws on the founder's experience as general counsel across the defence sector, corporate groups, and complex contracting. You get a counsel who understands the commercial goals and the risk — in the room with you when the decision is made, not advising from outside it.
Selectivity means full focus on your matter
We accept engagements by choice, not by volume. You get senior attention dedicated to your file and direct ownership of your interests — not one matter among hundreds queued in a practice built for throughput.
Institutional confidentiality, built into the work
Your sensitive matters are handled with the discretion you expect from a trusted adviser. Protection for your information and your commercial interests is engineered into how we work from day one — never added afterwards.
Your cross-border deals, run from one point
On international matters, we coordinate counsel across jurisdictions and hold the work to one coherent standard. A single point of accountability controls your file and keeps your agreements enforceable — from outset to result.
The Company
How we select, and how we work
PACTIS is a boutique by choice, not by scale. We take on a limited number of consequential mandates so that senior attention stays concentrated, confidentiality stays absolute, and accountability is clear from day one.
Operating principles
- Selective by design
We choose our mandates with care rather than chasing volume — so every matter receives genuine senior focus, not a place in a queue.
- Principal-led, not delegated
The responsible principal leads your matter personally from outset to conclusion, coordinating licensed Saudi and international counsel where needed — never handing your file down to the least experienced hands.
- Confidential by design
Every matter is held in institutional confidence; we collect the minimum data, with your consent, and keep it in-Kingdom — protection engineered into how we work, not added afterwards.
- Conflict-free discipline
We keep our practice free of strategic conflict, so we can act on significant matters with complete independence.
Our standard
We measure ourselves by the weight of the decision, not the hours billed: clear scope, accountability, and deliverables agreed before any work begins — held to an institutional standard that stands up to scrutiny.
The platform
A full legal practice, engineered as a secure platform
PACTIS Legal pairs full legal representation and advisory with modern legal technology — so confidentiality, integrity, and traceability are built into how your matters are handled, not added afterwards. One accountable place, end to end.
- Confidential by design
Client matters are protected with modern encryption and kept in-Kingdom, with access limited to those who need it. Confidentiality is a standing condition of every engagement.
- Blockchain-based integrity
Key documents, approvals, and milestones can be anchored with blockchain-based integrity — so their authenticity and timeline are verifiable and tamper-evident, without putting content on-chain.
- Secure matter tracking
Each engagement is managed on a secure, structured tracking system, so scope, responsibilities, deliverables, and progress stay clear and accountable from day one.
- One stop, end to end
Legal representation, regulatory advisory, and decision support sit in one accountable place — fewer hand-offs, one coherent standard, full control retained with the client.
Market context
Why institutions need this counsel now
In the Kingdom, regulation, market structure, and deal size are converging to raise the standard of governance, compliance, and disclosure expected of institutions. The result is disciplined legal counsel that protects your deals and reduces your regulatory and contract risk — a present need, not a luxury.
- Regulation
Vision 2030 is raising the bar on governance
Accelerating reform across the Capital Market Authority, the Ministry of Commerce, and the arbitration framework is lifting the standard for disclosure and compliance. Governance-ready institutions move through their deals with confidence; those that lag carry delay, risk, and regulatory scrutiny.
- Market
A gap between the firms and the consultancies
Traditional firms are built for volume; global consultancies for breadth. What an institution needs sits between them: selective, executive judgment delivered with institutional confidentiality — a counsel who knows your business and stands beside your board and general counsel on high-stakes decisions.
- Transactions
A high-value economy raises contract complexity
The Kingdom's landmark mandates across defence, infrastructure, energy, and sovereign funds demand enforceable contracts, disciplined governance, and cross-border coordination. This is where institutional counsel protects your value — where the stakes are highest and a contractual misstep costs the most.
Market structure
The gap PACTIS fills
Your legal options split between volume firms that handle your file as one in a queue, and narrow boutiques that master a single subject and no more. Both leave a gap: no one leads your regulatory, contract, and cross-border risk together — with executive judgment and institutional confidentiality — in a single engagement. That is the gap PACTIS was built to close.
| Model | Character | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|
| The traditional firm | Scale and general service, priced by volume. | Breadth without selectivity; your file is handled as one in the queue, not directed at board level. |
| The consulting house | Generic frameworks that stop at the recommendation. | An execution gap — you receive advice, not an enforceable contract that protects the deal when it is disputed. |
| The specialist boutique | Deep on a single subject, and no further. | Narrow by design; it cannot bring governance, compliance, and cross-border contracts together when they converge in one deal. |
| PACTISWhere they end, we begin | Executive, selective, institutional, cross-border. | Decisive executive judgment, strict selectivity, institutional confidentiality, and coordination across jurisdictions — in one engagement that protects your deals and raises your governance readiness. |
Leadership
Leadership built for high-stakes environments
Hamdan Alghamdi
Managing Partner
A note from the managing partner
High-stakes environments do not merely need legal support — they need disciplined judgment, structural clarity, drafting precision, and an institutional standard of trust. That is what we deliver for our clients.
Professional background
- General Counsel to an operating group of companies
- Executive experience across defence, aviation, construction, and EPC contracting in highly regulated environments
- Led commercial and cross-border negotiations and contracts
- Corporate governance, compliance, risk, dispute, and external-counsel management
- Legal strategy for blockchain and Web3 within Saudi frameworks
International commercial arbitration — moot competitions
- Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot — Vienna
- SCCA Arbitration Moot International — Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration
Engr. Nusrath Mohammed
Investment Partner
Investment partner — bringing the depth of major industrial and construction enterprises (Superstruct, HACFI, ArtCraft) to the platform.
Full profilePractice Areas
Five legal pillars that protect your decisions, deals, and regulatory standing
Our work is organised around five interlocking disciplines, led by the responsible principal: we protect your transactions, reduce your regulatory and contract risk, and make your board and governance decision-ready — from board resolutions to cross-border settlement. Practical advice and enforceable agreements, built to hold under scrutiny.
- 01
Corporate Governance & Structuring
We give your board a clear governance framework — board charters, delegation-of-authority frameworks, internal policies, and group restructuring — so accountability is defined, decisions are disciplined, and your structure aligns with the Companies Law and disclosure obligations.
Explore this practice area — Corporate Governance & Structuring - 02
Strategic Contracts & Transactions
We negotiate and draft EPC, acquisition, partnership, and cross-border agreements — protecting value, allocating risk, and giving you binding, enforceable contracts where the stakes are highest.
Explore this practice area — Strategic Contracts & Transactions - 03
Compliance & Internal Controls
We turn fragmented obligations into a single, defensible compliance programme — regulatory risk mapping, internal control design, and ongoing multi-authority monitoring, including Capital Market Authority and PDPL requirements.
Explore this practice area — Compliance & Internal Controls - 04
Regulated & Sensitive Sectors
Defence, aviation, energy, infrastructure, and financial services — counsel calibrated to the heightened scrutiny and licensing demands of restricted industries, drawn from general-counsel experience in highly regulated, confidential environments.
Explore this practice area — Regulated & Sensitive Sectors - 05
Cross-Border Legal Coordination
We run your external counsel across multiple jurisdictions through a single point of accountability — holding international matters to one coherent standard, with tight discretion and control across borders.
Explore this practice area — Cross-Border Legal Coordination
Sectors
Sectors we are built to serve
Our executive experience is rooted in regulated, high-stakes sectors — where complex contracts meet regulatory scrutiny and licensing demands, and where disciplined legal judgment makes the difference.
Focus sectors
- Defence & security
Highly regulated, confidential environments: procurement, local manufacturing, and compliance designed to hold up under scrutiny.
Explore this sector — Defence & security - Aviation & aerospace
High-value assets and strict licensing frameworks that demand precise drafting, disciplined governance, and cross-border coordination.
Explore this sector — Aviation & aerospace - Energy
Major projects and long-term contracts, where risk is carefully allocated and value protected across the project lifecycle.
Explore this sector — Energy - Infrastructure & construction
EPC contracts and complex partnerships that require tightly engineered allocation of risk.
Explore this sector — Infrastructure & construction - Financial services
A sophisticated regulatory environment — Capital Market Authority, compliance, and disclosure — that calls for finely calibrated counsel.
Explore this sector — Financial services
How we engage
How we work with you
We choose the engagement that serves your matter: standing counsel on retainer, a defined strategic mandate, a governance and compliance project, or cross-border coordination. Every mode has clear scope, accountability, and deliverables from day one — so you know exactly what you get.
- Ongoing relationship
Standing counsel (general counsel on retainer)
A retainer that gives your company a general counsel on call: a continuous legal presence across board decisions, contracts, governance, and compliance — at a fraction of the cost and overhead of a full in-house legal function.
- Defined mandate
Strategic mandates
A scoped engagement for a high-stakes deal, transaction, or dispute: focused legal leadership from negotiation through close, with executive judgment at the decisive moments — protecting deal value and keeping the decision in your hands.
- Deliverable-based project
Governance & compliance projects
Building your corporate governance framework: board charters, delegations of authority, policies, and compliance, disclosure, and internal-control programmes — a project with clear deliverables that raises your readiness for regulatory scrutiny and the governance standards of Vision 2030.
- International coordination
Cross-border coordination
A single point of accountability directing counsel and counterparties across jurisdictions, holding your international matters to one coherent standard from outset to result — so control and consistency stay with you.
How every engagement begins
We begin with a confidential consultation to understand your context and objectives, then agree clear scope, accountability, and deliverables before any work begins — so you know from day one exactly what we deliver and how, with full institutional confidentiality.
About PACTIS
The architecture behind the name
PACTIS unites two Latin roots — Pacta, the binding agreement, and Fortis, strength. The name describes what we deliver: enforceable contracts, board-ready governance, and regulatory compliance that holds — for Saudi and international companies in high-stakes sectors.
The name
- PactaThe binding agreement
An agreement that holds. We draft enforceable contracts and engagements that protect the deal and stand up when it is tested — at home and across borders.
- FortisStrength
Structural durability. Legal instruments engineered to reduce contract and regulatory risk, and to stand under pressure and over time.
- SelectivityMandates chosen with care
We accept engagements by choice, not by volume — senior attention concentrated on the matters that decide the outcome of your business.
- ConfidentialityDiscretion by default
Institutional confidentiality is the standing condition of every mandate — protecting your deals, your board, and your sensitive information, never an afterthought.
Brand attributes
- Distinguished
- Institutional
- Selective
- Confidential
- Strategically disciplined
- High-trust
- Executive
- Cross-border
What PACTIS is not
- Not a volume-driven practice
- Not a mass-market advisory brand
- Not built on commoditised work
- Not a general-purpose service shop
The institutional promise
PACTIS is built to deliver a standard of legal and regulatory service that boards, general counsel, and CFOs can rely on: rigour in execution, discipline in compliance and governance, and the commercial judgment to protect your decisions.
Insights
Insights & guides
General, plain-language explainers on the frameworks behind high-stakes decisions in Saudi Arabia. Published for information — not legal advice.
Corporate Governance Under the Saudi Companies Law: Board Charters, Reserved Matters, and Delegation of Authority
A general, educational overview of how corporate governance is structured under the Saudi Companies Law, focusing on the building blocks that boards typically use: charters, reserved matters, and delegated authority.
PDPL Compliance Essentials for Companies: Lawful Basis, Data Minimisation, Data-Subject Rights, and In-Kingdom Handling
The Kingdom's Personal Data Protection Law establishes how companies are generally expected to collect, use, and protect personal data. This overview introduces four foundations that recur across most compliance programmes.
When a company needs outside general counsel: the standing-counsel model vs. building an in-house legal department
Many companies reach a point where ad-hoc legal help is no longer enough but a full in-house department is not yet warranted. This general explainer outlines two common answers — a standing outside-counsel relationship and an internal legal function — and the factors that typically inform the choice.
Family-Business Governance in Saudi Arabia: The Family Charter, Ownership vs. Management, and Succession Readiness
Family businesses are a substantial part of the Saudi economy, and their continuity increasingly depends on deliberate governance. This guide explains, in general terms, how a family charter, a clear separation of ownership from management, and succession readiness fit within the Saudi legal framework.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers on what Pactis does, how it works, and how to begin.
What does Pactis do?
PACTIS Legal is a confidential, technology-enabled legal practice in Riyadh that represents and advises selective clients on high-stakes decisions. Its work spans corporate governance and structuring, strategic contracts and transactions (including EPC), compliance and internal controls, regulated and sensitive sectors, cross-border coordination, and full legal representation — delivered as a single, one-stop offering, with confidentiality engineered in through modern encryption, blockchain-based integrity, and secure matter tracking.
Is Pactis a law firm?
Yes — PACTIS Legal is a licensed professional legal and regulatory company (شركة مهنية) in Riyadh, founder-led by a licensed Saudi lawyer. It practises law and represents its selective clients directly across legal, regulatory, and strategic matters within the Kingdom, working with licensed local counsel where a matter reaches a foreign jurisdiction. It is structured as a company rather than a high-volume traditional office, and is selective by design, so senior attention stays concentrated on each mandate.
Is PACTIS Legal a law firm or a legal-technology platform?
Both — they are integrated. PACTIS Legal is a confidential legal practice that represents and advises its clients, engineered on secure technology foundations: modern encryption, blockchain-based integrity, and secure matter tracking. The result is a one-stop offering — legal representation, regulatory advisory, and decision support in one accountable place — not a tool you operate yourself.
Who leads Pactis?
Pactis is led by its founder and Managing Partner, Hamdan Alghamdi, a Saudi lawyer with general-counsel experience across regulated, high-stakes environments including defence, aviation, and major construction and EPC contracting. He has led commercial and cross-border negotiations, corporate governance, compliance, and external-counsel management, and holds 25 certifications in law and governance, each independently verifiable. He leads mandates personally and brings in trusted local and international experts where a matter requires, always in the client's interest.
Which sectors does Pactis focus on?
Pactis focuses on regulated, high-stakes sectors: defence and security, aviation and aerospace, energy, infrastructure and construction, and financial services. These are environments where complex contracts meet heightened regulatory scrutiny and licensing demands, drawing on the founder's general-counsel experience in highly regulated settings.
What is corporate governance advisory at Pactis?
Corporate governance advisory at Pactis means building a clear governance framework for a board: board charters, delegation-of-authority frameworks, internal policies, and group restructuring. The goal is defined accountability, disciplined decision-making, and a structure aligned with the Companies Law and disclosure obligations — raising readiness for regulatory scrutiny and Vision 2030 governance standards.
Does Pactis handle cross-border matters?
Yes. PACTIS Legal represents and advises clients fully within the Kingdom and acts as a single point of accountability on international matters — coordinating with the client's counsel and counterparties across jurisdictions under one coherent standard from outset to result. Where a matter sits in a foreign jurisdiction, it works with licensed local counsel there, who handle representation in that jurisdiction.
What engagement models does Pactis offer?
Pactis offers four engagement modes: standing counsel on retainer (a general counsel on call), a defined strategic mandate for a single high-stakes deal or transaction, a governance-and-compliance project with set deliverables, and cross-border coordination through a single point of accountability. The mode is chosen to fit the matter, and scope and terms are agreed before any work begins.
How are engagements with Pactis structured?
Every engagement begins with a confidential consultation, after which scope, accountability, and deliverables are agreed in writing before any work begins. Work is led personally by the responsible principal, with licensed Saudi and international counsel coordinated where a matter requires it. The aim is that clients know from day one exactly what will be delivered and how.
How does Pactis handle confidentiality?
Confidentiality is a standing condition of every mandate, engineered into how Pactis works rather than added afterwards. The company collects the minimum data needed, with the client's consent, and keeps it in-Kingdom. It also keeps its practice free of strategic conflicts so it can act on significant matters with full independence.
Which languages does Pactis work in?
Pactis works fully in both Arabic and English, with Arabic as its primary language. Advice, drafting, and correspondence are delivered bilingually, which is well suited to cross-border matters and to companies operating between Saudi and international counterparties.
Where is Pactis based?
Pactis is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and serves Saudi and international companies operating in the Kingdom. Client data is collected to a minimum and kept in-Kingdom, consistent with Saudi data-protection expectations.
Request a consultation
Start with a confidential consultation
Tell us briefly about your organisation and the matter at hand, and we will arrange a confidential consultation with counsel. Everything you share is held in institutional confidence and used only to respond to your request.
Prefer to reach us directly? Email [email protected]