Reema Aref was recently appointed Ernst & Young Law Saudi Arabia leader. The accomplished Saudi-licensed lawyer with a focus on tax, corporate and commercial law has a solid track record of success.
In her new position, Aref leads the EY legal practice across the Kingdom that provides clients with comprehensive corporate and commercial legal advice including mergers and acquisitions, joint venture agreements and other types of corporate transactions, financial services, energy and infrastructure projects, foreign direct investment and entity establishment.
Previously, Aref held the post of director of corporate and tax law at EY, where she established the first legal tax controversy team by bridging the gap between lawyers and accountants to better understand and interpret laws.
She managed preparations for hearings and settled disputes out of the semi-judicial committee by negotiating favorable resolutions through the Internal Dispute Resolution Committee. She also evaluated the legal tax implications of company activities and developed strategies to minimize tax disputes.
Prior to joining EY, Aref worked as a tax appeal specialist at the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority. Heading a team of 12 legal professionals, she was involved in the implementation of the value-added tax law, tax policies and changes in company income tax in the Kingdom.
Aref started her career as a general corporate and commercial lawyer with a focus on corporate legal investigations at Saudi Aramco. Her responsibilities included drafting, reviewing and advising on legal agreements, leading the team to present briefings on investigation matters and trends to the leadership, and advising organizational members on specific legal issues and precedents.
Aref received a Bachelor of Laws degree in law from the University of Leeds in the UK in 2011. In 2021, she obtained an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from IE Business School in Spain, followed by an Executive Master of Laws degree from Northwestern University in the US in the same year.
