Shearman has been looking to increase its presence in the Middle East for some time (4 March 2015) and recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of its office in Abu Dhabi. 

Abdulaziz Alassaf & Partners’ legal team includes both Saudi and English-qualified lawyers, who advise on corporate issues, private equity and dispute resolution. 

The firm is managed by Saudi-qualified attorney Sultan Almasoud, while the corporate practice is led by Sanjarbek Abdukhalilov, a UK-qualified solicitor who trained and worked at Denton Wilde Sapte before it became Dentons. 

Shearman & Sterling joins a number of other firms who have already established a presence in Saudia Arabia. 

DLA confirmed its second office will open in Jeddah this year (21 April 2015), while Baker & McKenzie also boosted its presence in the region (6 October 2014). Clyde & Co obtained formal approval to launch a co-owned joint venture with its Riyadh alliance firm last September (22 September 2014). 

Currently the firm has been operating in both regions in an offshore capacity but is looking to expand its offering to carry out domestic dispute resolution work in both countries.

It is unknown how Clydes will obtain its team but co-chair of the firm’s global arbitration group Ben Knowles said that negotiations are currently underway. Knowles said the firm expected to announce the openings this autumn.

Knowles also added that the possibility of a merger with a Middle Eastern firm has not been ruled out. In Qatar Clydes will look to expand its team through attracting lawyers it has previously worked with.

Clydes recently showed an increase focus on its Dubai office by making up five partners in its annual promotion round, two to equity partners and three to senior equity partners (20 April 2015). Of those promoted three were from the firm’s disputes resolution practice.

Increasing the firm’s international presence has been a key focus for Clydes. Last year the firm opened an office in Brisbane bringing its total number of Australian offices to four (28 October 2015). After announcing strong results for the 2014/15 financial year senior partner James Burns said that the firm was also thinking about increasing its presence in Latin America (23 June 2015).

Shearman & Sterling recently opened in Saudi Arabia through a partnership with local firm Abdulaziz Alassaf & Partners (29 June 2015). The local firm advises on corporate issues, private equity and dispute resolution.

Q: What have been the highlights of 2015 so far for you and do they reflect any market trends?

Samir Kantaria, head of employment, Al Tamimi & Co: The long-awaited amendment to the UAE Commercial Companies Law has certainly been welcome. The implementation of the law demonstrates the UAE government’s commitment to a modern UAE economy.

IPO activity has been slow over the past few months largely due to lower oil prices. However, with the introduction of a more transparent regulatory regime under the amended law, and a more favourable business environment more generally, it is predicted that IPO activity will return.

Mike Wakefield, partner, Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants: With increasingly challenging economic conditions in the North Sea and UK continental shelf – where some estimates suggest that oil and gas production has fallen by 30 per cent over the past five years – many small and medium-sized operators and oilfield services companies have been looking to re-organise their global presence, with many choosing Dubai as a base. This has led to substantial registration and corporate structuring work as well as M&A work in this segment.

In addition, looking at the hospitality and leisure industry, the first half of 2015 has shown an increase this year on 2014 in terms of new hotel management and franchise deals being signed.

Barry Greenberg, senior associate, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates: A big story is that, despite two factors that have been a drag on the UAE economy – the rapid decrease in the price of oil in 2014/15 and an oversupply of real estate units coming to market – the downside has been remarkably controlled.

Unlike the boom and bust cycle we have seen in the past, commercial activity has continued and expanded, albeit at a much slower pace than in prior periods. This trend perhaps is a sign of a more diverse market that is not over-reliant on too few sectors.

Given that the price of oil has been cut in half since mid 2014, the consequences could have been disastrous, but there has been no sign of any panic or any significant drawdown. In the long term, should oil remain at its current level, there may be structural changes in how regional governments budget and fund their activities, but given how oil prices fluctuate, this is speculative at this point.

Q: The UAE’s economy has grown strongly in the past couple of years. Do you expect the ongoing turmoil in the wider Middle East region to have any impact on this, or on investor confidence in the UAE?

Kantaria: The figures would indicate that the regional turmoil has had a positive effect on the UAE and we are seeing investors diverting funds, ear-marked for the region, into the UAE instead, which would indicate that investor confidence in the UAE remains high. In addition, the hosting of Expo 2020 is expected to create over 225,000 jobs over the next few years, bringing with it huge economic opportunities for the UAE as a whole.

Wakefield: It would be unwise to downplay the regional threats to ongoing projects and the opportunities for further foreign direct inward investment, so yes, it has changed the risk profile of many deals and make the region more challenging for multinational companies.

However, with increased awareness of these potential threats comes an appetite for clients to engage with advisers earlier in the project, providing additional focus on risk management and mitigation measures. As the various insurgent groups cast their web of terror wider, the region and the people
doing business within it are having to become even more resourceful in managing these risks, or at least putting in place effective processes for doing so.

Greenberg: Short of a major regional war or the development of an active insurgency in the UAE, investor confidence is unlikely to be affected by recent turmoil in the wider region. The UAE has for the vast majority of its history as a federal state avoided the internal strife and external conflict that has plagued other nations in the region.

Despite many regional conflagrations over the past 35 years, including the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War of 1991, the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its aftermath, and the Arab Spring events of 2011 and the continuing aftershocks, the UAE has continued to flourish. There is no reason to think that will not continue.

Q: Looking at the legal market, a number of international firms have consolidated their presence in Dubai in preference to Abu Dhabi recently. What do you think is prompting this trend and do you expect it to continue?

Kantaria: Some international firms established presences in Abu Dhabi in the past as they felt there were potentially enormous opportunities in a predominantly oil-based economy. Those opportunities did not quite materialise for all the firms, initially, in light of the Arab Spring and now the lower oil prices. Consequently, some firms have ultimately taken the decision to consolidate their UAE practices into Dubai. We expect this trend to continue with other firms which have dual offices in the UAE.

Wakefield: There are many factors and each firm will have made their decision based on different metrics, such as the costs of maintaining offices in multiple and lower revenue jurisdictions relative to the costs of maintaining such offices; the difficulty in attracting suitably qualified lawyers to work in more remote jurisdictions on the basis that time away from a head office could prejudice the lawyer’s chance of advancement; clients developing better in-house teams and relying less on outside counsel; Western billing practices no longer proving acceptable to regional consumers, such as billing in units of 15 or 30 minutes each; and general rise in competition, especially in niche areas such as oil and gas, projects, renewables and infrastructure, and hospitality & leisure.

Greenberg: This comes down to where business development prospects are stronger. Abu Dhabi, as the federal capital of the UAE, has a very strong governmental presence. Any firm that looks to do significant business in that sector will want an Abu Dhabi office. Dubai remains the commercial hub of the UAE and the wider GCC region, with aspirations to become the commercial centre of the greater MENA region and a gateway between east and west.

With so many opportunities developing in Dubai in the commercial setting, law firms are simply looking to go where there are greater prospects for generating new business. There is no reason for this trend to reverse itself, unless Abu Dhabi seeks to become a stronger player in the commercial market, which could occur depending on the success of the new Abu Dhabi Global Market financial free zone.

“Lloyd’s opened an office this year, and forecasters suggest the insurance industry in the Arabian gulf will grow”

Mike Wakefield

Q: What areas of growth are you predicting for the legal market?

Kantaria: IPO activity is certainly predicted to be busy again as well as M&A activity. However, at the same time we are also seeing the adverse effects of the lower oil process on the operations of energy-based companies, with some companies looking to scale back operations or even wind down operations totally.

Wakefield: Hospitality & leisure has to pick up with the number of new rooms required before Expo 2020. Even though the overall number of new hotels rooms has been revised downwards to around 35,000, this represents significant developments. To ensure delivery of these projects by October 2020, all the main contracts in respect of the projects will need to have been signed by the end of 2016, if not sooner, and the orders for long-lead construction items (such as steel, cement, rebar, construction equipment and so on) will need to have been placed.

It is also highly probable that infrastructure activity will increase in the next few months to support the reinvigorated property market generally and also to support the strategic development projects such as the Expo 2020 site, the Dubai world central and the surrounding area. Lloyd’s opened an office in the DIFC earlier this year, and with some forecasters suggesting the insurance industry in the Arabian gulf will grow annually by 18 per cent between 2012 and 2017, this is another area we are expecting to flourish for the rest of this year and beyond.

Greenberg: A big driver of growth in the short and medium term will be the lifting of sanctions against Iran. The UAE is a natural jumping off point to doing business in Iran, and with the anticipated lifting of international sanctions, it is expected that many international companies will seek to establish an Iranian presence.

The UAE legal community is well situated to provide services to those companies looking to make inroads into the largely untapped Iranian markets. The new UAE Commercial Companies Law, and perhaps later this year a new Insolvency Law, will also generate some activity as companies look to take advantage of each.

Hassan Mahassni, based in Jeddah, specialises in corporate, commercial and financial transactions both locally and internationally. Work carried out by the firm includes joint ventures, M&A, capital market transactions, banking, project finance and Islamic finance.

The firm said it had entered Saudi Arabia to take advantage of the liberalisation of capital markets in the country, which is expected to lead to growth in the market.

In a statement Dechert CEO Daniel O’Donnell said: “This association is of strategic importance to Dechert. We are committed to enhancing our offering in the Middle East and in working with Hassan and his team I think we can achieve great results for our clients.”

Dechert opened in Dubai in 2012, marking the firm’s first office in the Middle East. The office was opened after the US firm hired a 25-strong team from Dewey & LeBoeuf.

Dechert is not the only firm looking to capitalise on the potential of the Saudi Arabian legal market. Earlier this year Shearman & Sterling partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Alassaf & Partners, allowing the firm to do business in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar.

DLA Piper also announced it is planning to open two additional offices in the country by the end of 2015. The first of these offices will be run by legal director Rakesh Bassi and be based in Jeddah.

In 2013 King & Wood Mallesons opened an office in the Riyadh shortly after it merged with SJ Berwin. The office was opened through an association with the Law Office of Majed Alnarshad.

The Lawyer first reported in March that the US firm was planning on opening in both Dubai and Riyadh. In June Shearman signed an association with Saudi firm Abdulaziz Alassaf & Partners to give it offices in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar.

The Dubai office will be run by Middle East managing partner Marwan Elraby. He said the firm advised both corporates and state-owned entities in the region and that with continued infrastructure spending, private capital flows, capital markets transactions and disputes work across the region Shearman saw further opportunities for growth.

Shearman has been in the Middle East for 40 years through its Abu Dhabi office.

It is the third international firm to launch in Dubai this year. In March DWF opened its first office outside the UK and Ireland with a Dubai launch, and Winston & Strawn hired Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman finance partners James Simpson and Stephen Jurgenson in May ahead of a planned Dubai opening.

Haigh’s sentence includes time served and he will be released in November, having spent 13 months in prison in Dubai before he was officially charged in June.

A spokesperson for Haigh told The Lawyer: “David continues to maintain his innocence and has entered an appeal with the Dubai criminal court. The appeal is scheduled to be heard at the beginning of October.”

Haigh was arrested on 18 May 2014 when his former employers Gulf Finance House Capital (GFH) accused him of committing fraud, embezzlement and money laundering when he was employed by the Bahrain-based bank.

GFH’s lawyers Gibson Dunn & Crutcher successfully obtained a worldwide freezing order against Haigh’s assets in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) last year, following claims he falsified £3m of invoices in connection with the sale of Leeds United. The freezing order remains in place.

Haigh was general counsel for GFH Capital, which bought Leeds United in 2012, before selling a majority stake last year.

Haigh was represented by Dubai lawyer Michel Chalhoub in the four hearings leading up to his conviction after his lawyers, Stephenson Harwood, came off the record due to more than £1m in unpaid legal fees.

He was previously represented by Stephenson Harwood Dubai managing partner Rovine Chadrasekera and Olswang partner Bernard O’Sullivan, as well as local firm Nasser Malalla.

Haigh’s current counsel in the UK, Great James Street’s Alun Jones QC, is representing him in proceedings launched in April accusing two GFH heads, Hisham Al Rayes and Jinesh Patel, and ex-Gibson Dunn partner Peter Gray, of engaging in human trafficking to lure him to Dubai where he was jailed.

The claims were dismissed in the West London Magistrates’ Court in June, though Haigh is understood to be pursuing other legal channels to bring his claim before the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Ex-Leeds United chief and GFH Capital general counsel David Haigh has been found guilty of embezzlement and breach of trust in Dubai and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

Haigh’s sentence includes time served and he will be released in November, having spent 13 months in prison in Dubai before he was officially charged in June.

He was arrested in May last year when his former employers accused him of forging £3m of invoices in connection with the sale of Leeds United. 

Haigh was represented by Dubai lawyer Michel Chalhoub in the four hearings leading up to his conviction after his lawyers, Stephenson Harwood, came off the record due to more than £1m in unpaid legal fees.

Also on TheLawyer.com:

• Litigation boutique Kobre & Kim has launched in Seoul, with co-founder Michael Kim relocating to head up the new offices
• Tesco has instructed Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to defend a raft of shareholder group claims brought by firms including Stewarts Law and McGuire Woods
• Zurich has instructed four top firms to defend a $1bn insurance dispute brought by HSF client SBM

HSF will partner with a local firm in the region in accordance with Saudi Arabian law, which prevents international firms opening without a local partner. The firm is hoping to gain local approval for the new association by March next year.

The news has emerged two years after HSF ended its six-year exclusive alliance with local firm Al-Ghazzawi Professional Association.

This year it also closed its Abu Dhabi office with its five lawyers relocated to Dubai.

The firm still has an office in the Qatari capital of Doha, which it opened in 2012 and is home to two partners.

The identity of its local partner firm has not yet surfaced, though just a small number of firms remain independent in Saudi Arabia.

A spokesperson for HSF said: “The Middle East is a key strategic market for our firm, and we are strongly committed to growing our leading practice there. We will continue to consider how best to develop our ability to support the needs of our clients in the region.”

HSF is the third firm this year to announce a Saudi launch.

Dechert tied up with Jeddah practice Hassan Mahassni in September. Earlier this year Shearman & Sterling partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Alassaf & Partners, allowing the firm to do business in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar.

DLA Piper also announced it is planning to open two additional offices in the country by the end of 2015. The first of these offices will be run by legal director Rakesh Bassi and be based in Jeddah. Middle East firm Al Tamimi & Company also said it was expanding its presence in the jurisdiction to Jeddah.

However this year has also seen a series of closures in the Middle East. Latham & Watkins closed in Doha and consolidated its Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices in March and Baker Botts closed its Abu Dhabi office, though it boosted its Dubai offering.

For more on the Saudi Arabian market and international relationships there, see last year’s analysis, Keys to the Kingdom.

The three offices will be launched in Kuwait, Lebanon and Riyadh and are expected to open before the end of the year.

The firm confirmed its plans to open the three offices but declined to comment further as to how many partners would be based in the region.

Currently, the insurance firm’s only office in the Middle East is situated in Dubai. There are nine partners and 20 associates based within the office, which specialises in dispute resolution, transactions and regulation work across the aviation, infrastructure, insurance and shipping sectors.

Although HFW has no other offices in the region it also operates in Abu Dhabi through alliance firm Salem Al Maddfa Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The office openings will be the firm’s latest attempt to increase its international presence. In an effort to show the importance of the Asian market for the firm last year senior partner Richard Crump relocated permanently to Singapore. As region Asia represents a considerable investment for HFW with 20 per cent of the firm’s staff based on the continent.

Last year HFW saw its global revenue fall by 3 per cent, from £143.8m to £139m. On top of this average profit per equity partner dropped 9 per cent to £496,000.

Corporate partners Charles Fuller and Andrew Tarbuck are both moving to Hogan Lovells’ seven-partner office, along with finance partner Anthony Pallett. 

Fuller joined Latham in 2002 from Simmons & Simmons and has since advised Dubai based Olive Group on its merger with Constellis Group, as well as Spectrum Equity on its investment in Trintech alongside Vista Equity Partners. 

Meanwhile, fellow corporate partner Tarbuck and finance partner Pallett joined Latham from Norton Rose Fulbright in 2010 and 2007 respectively. 

While at Latham, Tarbuck represented the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia on its IPO, with Pallett working on financings for regional real estate developers such as Majid Al Futtaim Group. 

The departures from Latham come after the firm closed its Doha office last March and announced plans to merge its Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices.

Following the news, Latham also lost Abu Dhabi project finance Nick Collins to Jones Day’s London practice, with the number of partners now understood to be falling to six.

Riyadh corporate partner Nasser Al-Hamdan, who will continue as managing partner of the local firm, will also join HSF as a partner.

Euan Pinkerton will join the office from White & Case in Riyadh, where he was a partner in the energy, infrastructure, project and asset finance group.

DLA infrastructure partner Anthony Ellis will join HSF’s Dubai office. Earlier this year HSF closed its Abu Dhabi office with the five-lawyer team relocating to Dubai. Ellis will be joined by a senior associate from HSF’s Australian offices, bringing the total Dubai practice to seven lawyers.

The appointments bring HSF’s Middle East operations up to eight partners and 31 lawyers across Riyadh, Dubai and Doha.

Joint chief executive Sonya Leydecker said: “Together with our recent launches in Johannesburg and Düsseldorf, this will be our third major investment in strengthening the firm’s presence across the EMEA region, a key focus for the firm to provide clients with a truly global offering.”

HSF Middle East head Zubai Mir added the association “brings a leading corporate capability into Saudi Arabia”.

The Riyadh launch comes two years after HSF ended its six-year exclusive alliance with local firm Al-Ghazzawi Professional Association.

HSF is the third firm this year to announce a Saudi launch.

Dechert tied up with Jeddah practice Hassan Mahassni in September. Earlier this year Shearman & Sterling partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Alassaf & Partners, allowing the firm to do business in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar.

DLA Piper also announced it is planning to open two additional offices in the country by the end of 2015. The first of these offices will be run by legal director Rakesh Bassi and be based in Jeddah. Middle East firm Al Tamimi & Company also said it was expanding its presence in the jurisdiction to Jeddah.

However this year has also seen a series of closures in the Middle East. Latham & Watkins closed in Doha and consolidated its Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices in March and Baker Botts closed its Abu Dhabi office, though it boosted its Dubai offering.

For more on the Middle East, look out for Monday’s special report focusing on the region. For more on the Saudi Arabian market and international relationships there, see last year’s analysis, Keys to the Kingdom.

Four bands battled it out in Dubai in front of 400 fans, the first time Law Rocks has been held in the Middle East.

DLA Piper’s Pipers At The Gates Of Dawn opened the evening, making Dubai partner Simon Palmer the only person to be able to say he has opened two inaugural Law Rocks, both Dubai and the first ever one in London.

The set included brilliantly executed songs from Blur, The Killers and, to boot, the first-ever song to be played at Law Rocks, The Undertones’ Teenage Kicks.

CMS Cameron McKenna were up second, having flown in the day before from the UK to play. The Stragglers, consisting on this occasion of partners Jonathan Dames and Paul Smith, and their colleague Menna Haf knocked out a semi-acoustic set, using Haf’s powerful and soulful voice to good effect.

In particular, Queen’s Somebody To Love had the whole place singing along. The Stragglers were winners of the first ever Law Rocks back in 2009.

Nabarro’s band, Latent Defects, were up next, with Dubai managing partner Terry Fleet, the driving force behind the band, playing bass in public for the first time in his life.

When asked how he found it, Fleet said: “I felt nervous. First time performing in public for me. But I am Alright Now and I Feel Good.”

Possibly not entirely coincidentally, these were two of the songs Latent Defects played with gusto. While musically the entire band was of a very high standard, singer Rebecca Day shone with a remarkable performance.  

Finally, Taylor Wessing’s Tomorrow’s World took the stage. Relying on the staple diet of a four-piece band, some good old fashioned rock including Born To Be Wild, I Fought The Law, and Twentieth Century Boy, Middle East managing partner Mark Fraser and his team emerged victorious.

The panel of judges consisting of Tim Taylor QC of King & Wood Mallesons, sponsors 4 New Square’s George Spalton and Navigant Dubai managing director David Dale, all described it as a very close call, but Taylor Wessing just pipped DLA Piper with a point or so in it.  

Regular compere Damian Hickman, CEO of the IDRC in London said: “To have finally made it to the Middle East was brilliant. The legal market there, like everywhere else it seems, has taken Law Rocks to its hearts, and we’re very grateful. Quite how the bands keep getting better year on year is beyond me.”

Navigant managing director and Law Rocks founder Nick Child added: “I thought I’d seen the most impressive inaugural event yet in Singapore earlier this year. But these guys, they just rocked it. The bands, the crowd, even the venue, it simply couldn’t have been better.”

The 2016 event will be on 30 November so any budding UAE bands better get practising.

Outside of the Middle East, there will be Law Rocks gigs in 2016 in London, Los Angeles, New York, Vienna, Washington DC, Istanbul, Limassol, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Sao Paolo.

By the end of 2015, the Law Rocks team estimates the total funds raised since it launched six years ago will pass the $1.5m mark.

Earlier this month Howard Kennedy was victorious at the final UK Law Rocks of the year at London’s iconic 100 Club, while in October Addleshaw Goddard and Coffin Mew’s performance split the judges with a first-ever tied result.

Twenty-five international firms have launched offices in Saudi Arabia in the 35 years since Baker & McKenzie moved into the country. Operating through associations with local firms, as required by Saudi law, these firms have sought to benefit from the trade and investment -driven by the country’s vast natural resources and, more recently, the government’s push to develop infrastructure projects.

More recently, two firms – Clifford Chance and Clyde & Co – have established joint ventures with Saudi lawyers, operating as integrated offices under their own branding rather than through associations. The model involves a significant -investment of money and effort by the international firms.

Huge volumes of trade

Clyde & Co construction partner Ben Cowling has been in Riyadh for more than three years, working first in association with the Law Office of Abdulaziz Al-Bosaily and now as a partner of Al-Bosaily.

“Saudi is the largest economy in the Middle East with huge volumes of trade. It’s a great market for lawyers to serve,” says Cowling.

He adds that the falling oil price and the continuing unrest in the surrounding region has had an -impact on the Saudi government’s financial position.

“Business sentiment is still positive here, at least in a regional context, but it’s not going to be the same as it has been for the past five years or so, when the government had very large infrastructure programmes rolling out,” Cowling explains. “There’s been an incremental rationalisation of some of those projects, but there’s also particular areas it still wants to spend money on to achieve the core objectives it had before.”

The Saudi government has laid out plans to improve its infrastructure in a range of areas, including transport, healthcare and education. Among the projects “in full swing”, according to Cowling, is the new Riyadh metro. The project is costing over $20bn (£13bn) and although the contracts were awarded to three consortia the metro is being built in one go.

Metro systems for Mecca and Jeddah are also planned, but Cowling predicts that these projects will be broken into smaller packages and built in phases.

The fall in the oil price means that the Saudi government will probably look to external sources of finance, more so than in the past. The use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) remains rare in Saudi Arabia, although such a model was used for the recent construction of a $1.2bn terminal at the Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport. That was built by a consortium of two Saudi companies alongside a Turkish contractor under a 25-year build, own and operate agreement.

Cowling predicts that the infrastructure boom will also, in due course, give rise to a growing number of disputes. He says disputes work has already started rising as a result of changes to the economy, in typical counter-cyclical fashion.

Despite the changes in the economy Cowling thinks more firms will want to move into Saudi Arabia and perhaps into areas other than the typical project finance and construction model followed by many.

“There’s quite a lot of change in the insurance market as well, which is something we’re involved in,” he notes, adding that Clydes also advises on shipping, aviation and international trade issues from Saudi.

“We don’t necessarily try to do all the things other firms have done here,” says Cowling. “We try to do the things that we’ve always been strong in globally. We see other firms coming in and doing similar things to what we’ve been doing.”

He says the integrated office approach is already paying off, less than a year after Clydes and Al-Bosaily launched.

“We’re relatively settled,” Cowling says. “We’ve integrated well into the market, and we’re happy with the partner we have.

“It’s enabled us to do a number of things we weren’t able to do before,” he adds. “We’re able to market ourselves as Clyde & Co. Internally, it’s helped us a lot as well in terms of demonstrating a career development path for the people working in the Riyadh office.”

A truly international career

He explains that Saudi associates can now be offered a “truly international” career at Clydes, with more chance to specialise than their peers in local or associated firms.

Cowling adds that there is “no reason not to” enter into a joint venture in Saudi Arabia.

“It does mean a bigger commitment,” he admits. “We have a direct investment in the vehicle we’re trading through. In comparison with an associated office structure, which is more arms-length, it takes time to develop trust to make a joint venture happen.”

But Cowling also points to the several firms that have recently expanded in Saudi Arabia and recent launches including Dechert, Herbert Smith Freehills and Shearman & Sterling.

“Firms are seeking to invest – much of this after the oil price changes – so people clearly see an opportunity for lawyers,” he concludes.

Morocco: entrez

Morocco is seen as a key to Francophone Africa and remains an attractive place for international firms to launch.

 Because Morocco is a gateway to sub-Saharan francophone Africa, interest in the country from international firms is high. In the past 12 months Dentons and most recently DLA Piper have launched in the country, hiring lawyers from incumbent international and local firms.

The market also has several thriving local independent firms. Here, Mehdi Bennani, managing partner of Bennani & Associés, considers the trends.

“It’s an enjoyable time for Morocco across all industries. There isn’t any particular one that’s attracting all the investors while the others are dormant.

“The pattern we see repeating itself is a company coming into Morocco, entering into a joint venture with a Moroccan counterparty and going after the Moroccan market. They’re also going after the African market where either the Moroccan partner or the French partner had invested a long time ago.

“We often talk about globalisation. This translates into international companies doing international transactions with an African component.

“We have more deals than we used to have. We’re busy round the clock. The sectors Morocco is trying to promote are active, including automotive, aerospace and energy.

“Our business is growing tremendously – we’re getting referrals from around the world. More companies looking to do business in Morocco are preferring to go with local firms. This year we’ve been doing big transactions with firms such as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Latham & Watkins and Jones Day.

“We want to become the best independent firm in North Africa. I strongly recommend my peers to do the same.

“Algeria is an important market for us, and Tunisia too. We’re also hoping to open in Libya as soon as it is safe. As soon as the country stabilises politically we know there’s a tremendous business opportunity there. We’d like to cross-sell our abilities in North Africa – that’s how the Algerian and Tunisian offices opened. We’re not planning on going anywhere south of that.

“It’s an interesting time for this part of the world.”

UAE: hub of Middle Eastern legal activity

Abu Dhabi

As the capital of the United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi has attracted a number of international firms over the years, but not all these ventures have been successful. Many were attracted to the region due to the opportunities presented by an oil-based economy. However, this market has suffered due to falling oil prices and many have since retreated.

Al Tamimi & Company is the largest independent law firm in the UAE and operates from five offices across the jurisdiction, including Abu Dhabi. Al Tamimi’s Abu Dhabi managing partner Stephen Forster explains why the capital is still important for the firm.

Government work

“Al Tamimi has had an office in Abu Dhabi for over 20 years and over that period has worked to build strong relationships with government departments and authorities at federal and local level, along with local, national and international businesses. The office has grown to more than 40 fee-earners, making us the largest law firm in Abu Dhabi, and the one with the most diverse practice areas.

“While we continue to act as local counsel alongside international firms, we’re also increasingly competing with international firms as we have lawyers capable of doing the international work along with the local work utilising Arabic language capabilities.

“As the capital, Abu Dhabi houses much of the federal government, being the Washington DC to Dubai’s New York. Abu Dhabi also has the vast majority of the oil reserves of the UAE so it is where most of the oil companies are based. Consequently, a significant part of the economy in Abu Dhabi is government-related.

“Although the leading regional firm, Al Tamimi aims to be the leading law firm in the UAE and it cannot claim to be that without a significant office in the capital. Many of our clients have dealings with the federal authorities including the Securities and Commodities Authority, the Central Bank and various ministries. All are based in Abu Dhabi and to establish connections and maintain relations with them it is essential to have a presence here. Likewise, when dealing with the many government-related entities and other prominent companies, clients want their

advisers in Abu Dhabi to attend meetings at short notice rather than being 90 minutes away in Dubai.

“The government of Abu Dhabi has made significant efforts to improve the quality of life in the emirate in the past decade; from the amount and quality of the housing stock and infrastructure to shopping, restaurants and entertainment. As a result, it’s much easier to get lawyers to work here and the talent pool is increasing. Being part of the largest law firm in the region and one with a growing reputation and ability to offer good working conditions and work-life balance helps attract those people to Al Tamimi in Abu Dhabi.

“Abu Dhabi will continue to grow in line with its ambitious plans, although perhaps at a slightly slower pace than hoped, given the economic climate.”

Dubai

Many law firms have scaled back their operations in Abu Dhabi with a good deal of them opting instead to boost their capabilities in Dubai.

As the financial centre for the UAE Dubai attracted firms wishing to capitalise on the commercial prospects the region offers. These opportunities may increase as Dubai looks to further position itself as the commercial centre for the greater MENA region.

Peter Somekh, DLA Piper’s managing partner for the Middle East, discusses the benefits and challenges of operating in Dubai.

“DLA’s vision is to be the leading global business law firm, delivering quality, value-added services to our clients with a sector-based focus, globally and locally. In the Middle East, our nine offices subscribe to this strategy and vision with a local flavour across our chosen sectors.

“These include banking and finance, energy and infrastructure (with an emphasis on transport), and technology. These areas are included among pillars of government strategy in the UAE to facilitate growth and diversification, even in the face of challenges arising from oil prices, budget squeezes and geopolitical concerns. Our approach would perhaps be best characterised as diversified specialisation.

“Business influence is moving to Asia so it makes sense for any international firm to have a base here; the UAE is ideally located to provide a link between East and West, geographically and logistically. Our teams here are able to work on mandates in the Middle East, in Africa, in Europe, in Asia and in the US together with colleagues in our offices in each relevant jurisdiction.

“Are there downsides? There are challenges for staff living here, particularly where family or extended family are overseas. However, our global reach and reputation for being progressive means we’ve options to offer that other firms may struggle to match.

“Most large international firms have a presence in the UAE and we find ourselves competing for mandates or ‘on the other side of the -table’ from all the usual firms as well as some increasingly sophisticated regional firms.

“We’ve been in the Middle East for a decade and some firms have considerably longer tenure with resultant relationships, which are key to doing business in the region.

“However, we’ve developed a locally based best-in-class offering across a number of workstreams and will continue to invest in talent to maintain that position.”

Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) has announced that it has forged three new associations to expand its Middle Eastern presence to Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Kuwait.

The firm has linked up with legacy Squire Sanders & Dempsey’s Saudi associate, Al-Enezee, to establish a presence in Riyadh. In Beirut, HFW will ally with El-Khoury & Partners. The two firms are already closely connected and have worked together for many years.

In Kuwait the firm will operate through an association with Rula Dajani Law Office, a firm set up by its Middle East managing partner Rula Dajani Abuljebain. She will work from both Dubai and Kuwait.

The announcement makes good on HWF’s promise to launch in the jurisdictions last year.

HFW has its own office in Dubai, with around 30 lawyers on the ground. It also operates in Abu Dhabi through an alliance with Salem Al Maddfa Advocates and Legal Consultants. The firm previously had an Saudi association with Allazam Law Office.

Senior partner Richard Crump said the Middle East had “become an increasingly important part of our growth strategy”.

HFW has been investing in its international capabilities lately. In an effort to show the importance of the Asian market for the firm last year senior partner Richard Crump relocated permanently to Singapore. As a region Asia represents a considerable investment for HFW with 20 per cent of the firm’s staff based on the continent.

The firm’s move into Saudi and expansion elsewhere in the Middle East continues a recent trend of expansion in the region. Last year Herbert Smith Freehills announced it would reopen in Riyadh through an exclusive association with local firm Nasser Al-Hamdan and the hire of two partners from DLA Piper and White & Case.

Dechert tied up with Jeddah practice Hassan Mahassni in September and earlier in 2015 Shearman & Sterling partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Alassaf & Partners, allowing the firm to do business in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar.

DLA Piper also announced it is planning to open two additional offices in the country by the end of 2015. The first of these offices will be run by legal director Rakesh Bassi and be based in Jeddah. Middle East firm Al Tamimi & Company also said it was expanding its presence in the jurisdiction to Jeddah.

Last year also saw a series of closures in the Middle East. Latham & Watkins closed in Doha and consolidated its Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices in March and Baker Botts closed its Abu Dhabi office, though it boosted its Dubai offering.

Foreign law firms have generally shied away from opening in Lebanon and Kuwait. DLA Piper has a joint venture in Kuwait with local firm Al Wagayan Al Awadhi & Al Saif, while Dentons operates in Beirut through an association with Chedid Law Offices. The firm pulled out of Kuwait in 2013, shortly after US firm Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle ended a short-lived association there.

Clifford Chance’s Saudi Arabia office could be forced into a major restructure following a legal challenge concerning the validity of joint ventures in the country.

It has emerged the Saudi Ministry of Justice has launched an appeal to overturn the decision that granted Clifford Chance its joint venture application after one of the Saudi partners and the head of the Saudi firm exited their roles.

Current legislation allows foreign firms to enter into a joint venture and own up to 75 per cent of a domestic firm. A Saudi national licensed to work in the legal profession must own the remaining 25 per cent of the share capital.

Clifford Chance was the first successful law firm to open a joint venture in the region when it transferred Al-Jadaan’s practice into the firm in January 2014.

Founder and head of project finance Abdulaziz Al-Abduljabbar left to launch his own firm in December, while former head of the firm Mohammed Al-Jadaan also resigned from his position after taking up a role as chairman of the Capital Markets Authority.

A Clifford Chance spokesperson said: “In terms of the regulations in force today, we are fully compliant and our licences stand.

“In structuring our operations in the Kingdom, we were very careful to take a conservative approach that would be entirely compliant with all the relevant regulations and we received all the necessary approvals, all of which remain in place today.”

On 1 January 2016 Clifford Chance appointed Khalid Al-Abdulkareem as its Riyadh office managing partner.

Sources in the country said the Ministry of Justice’s legal challenge is still working its way through the Saudi court system.

Clifford Chance and Clyde & Co are the only two law firms to have successfully opened a joint venture in Saudi Arabia. Clydes formalised its own relationship with Abdulaziz Al-Bosaily Law Office last September after entering into an association with the firm five years before.

Although the legislation allows the formation of legal joint ventures to exist in practice, setting up these partnerships has proved difficult.

It is understood Clifford Chance will be required to go through the Saudi appellate courts in order to receive a final judgement relating to the status of its business in the country.

The outcome of the challenge could have larger implications for any firm wishing to formalise its relationships in region.

Speaking to the The Lawyer a partner at the Saudi associated firm of a top 30 UK firm said the two outfits attempted to register a similar entity in 2006. However the clerk at the relevant ministry refused to register the company and showed him that the register itself was empty.

The firms’ discussions progressed to the point that the articles of association had been drafted and notarised, but the joint venture was never actually registered.

Although the law does allow professional services firms to open joint ventures, the partner said the current challenge represents a “divergence between the legislation and the policy maker”.

The partner said that a joint venture with its UK partner would be a “serious option to pursue” should the process open up.

It is also understood that a fourth firm made moves to cement a joint venture in Saudi Arabia but ceased its application following the news of the legal challenge.

The only foreign firm to operate without an affiliation or a joint venture with a Saudi Arabian firm is Middle Eastern giant Al-Tamimi & Co. It is able to do so because it is based within one of the six countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

CMS has become the first international firm to open an office in Iran, two weeks after sanctions against the country were lifted by the US.

Partners from the firm’s German arm, CMS Hasche Sigle, will lead the Tehran office, which now has the right to provide legal advice across the country. The office will be led by partners Jürgen Frodermann and Shaghayegh Smousavi.

Frodermann specialises in international private equity and M&A transactions as well as corporate issues such as restructuring and IPOs. He has advised German-Iranian clients from Germany for many years.

Smousavi is a German-Iranian partner and has legal expertise in both jurisdictions during her work for international clients.

CMS Hasche Sigle managing partner Hubertus Kolster said: “Setting up a CMS office in Tehran is a clear demonstration of our commitment and underlines the importance of the market in Iran and the Middle East.

“This will enable us to provide local support for our clients and investors on projects in Iran. It’s also another milestone for our firm in the development of innovative and cross-border legal services.”

Following the election of Iranian president Hassan Rohani, who started negotiations to remove the sanctions against the country, CMS set up a task force to establish connections within Iran.

The firm’s clients in Iran will consist of multinationals and large SMEs, including Iranian companies. CMS recently advised vehicle manufacturer Iran Khodro Diesel SSA on a deal to produce truck and drive components to German company Daimler.

The office opened yesterday (1 February) and is located in Navak Tower, which is home to the German Chamber of Foreign Trade.

CMS is the first foreign firm to set up in Iran but a number of other firms are also understood to be exploring their opportunities in the country as the market opens up.

CMS recently announced UK managing partner Duncan Weston will be stepping down in May to take up a role as executive partner for global development. Oil and gas corporate partner Stephen Millar will replace him as managing partner.

White & Case has ended its Saudi Arabian association with Waleed Al-Nuwaiser, which was a precursor to the firm being able to practise law in the kingdom.

The firm’s association with Al-Nuwaiser ran for five years but the relationship split at the end of 2015. White & Case partnered with Al-Nuwaiser after Latham & Watkins poached its former associated partner Mohammed Al-Sheikh.

At the time Latham also picked up partner Christopher Langdon and the majority of the associates at White and Case’s Riyadh office.

A White & Case spokesperson said: “White & Case continues to provide Saudi and international law advice to our clients. We’ve agreed a new association in Saudi Arabia and it’s business as usual for our clients.”

It is unknown which firm White & Case has agreed to work with and when the relationship will come into effect. White & Case has had a presence in Saudi Arabia since 1989.

Saudi Arabian law requires foreign law firms wishing to operate in the kingdom to either work alongside an associated domestic firm or set up a joint venture. The joint venture model requires a Saudi national who works in the legal profession to own at least 25 per cent of the share capital of the firm. So far only Clifford Chance and Clyde & Co have opened a joint venture in the Kingdom.

Last week The Lawyer revealed that Clifford Chance’s joint venture was under threat after the Saudi Ministry of Justice launched an appeal to overturn the decision which granted the magic circle firm its join venture licence.

The appeal was launched after Clifford Chance Saudi partner Abdulaziz Al-Abduljabbar left to start his own firm in December.

White & Case has announced it has established a new association in Saudi Arabia with the Law Firm of AlSalloum and AlToaimi.

Earlier this week The Lawyer revealed that White & Case had ended its five-year association with Waleed Al-Nuwaiser. The relationship came to an end in December and although the firm was known to be in discussion with a Saudi partner the new association had yet to receive regulatory approval.

In a statement White & Case’s head of Middle East Doug Peel said that the firm was establishing an association with the Law Firm of AlSalloum and AlToaimi and it is “business as usual for our clients while this new arrangement is being put in place”.

Zeyad AlSalloum and Yazeed AlToaimi are both senior lawyers in Saudi Arabia and are now association partners at White & Case. AlSalloum joined White & Case’s Riyadh office in March 2013 after leaving the Law Office of Abdulaziz H Fahad. Altoaimi joined the firm later the same year after working as a legal consultant at Naji Law Firm.

The new association is expected to be operational towards the end of the first quarter or early in the second quarter of the year.

White & Case has operated in Saudi Arabia since 1989 through a number of different associations. The firm partnered with Al-Nuwaiser in 2010 after Latham & Watkins poached its former association partner, Mohammed Al-Sheikh.

Recently, it emerged that Clifford Chance’s joint venture in Saudi was facing a legal challenge from the Ministry of Justice after the founding member of the firm’s partner firm Abdulaziz Al-Abduljabbar left to launch his own firm.

Clifford Chance has since appointed Khalid Al-Abdulkareem as its Riyadh office managing partner. A Clifford Chance spokesperson said that the firm’s regulatory approvals to operate in the region remained in place.

Vinson & Elkins has become the latest firm to close in Abu Dhabi, with all staff set to relocate to its Dubai office.

All staff in Abu Dhabi, including partner Rob Patterson, will move to Dubai from the end of March, with the firm continuing to have offices in both Dubai and Riyadh.

The decision was made by Vinson & Elkins’ management committee, with a number of other firms closing in Abu Dhabi last year.

Herbert Smith Freehills closed in Abu Dhabi in the summer, in a move that saw five other lawyers relocate to Dubai and resulted in the consolidation of its United Arab Emirates’ offices into one.

Meanwhile Latham & Watkins closed in Doha and merged its Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices, seven years after launching in the region.

Former GFH Capital general counsel David Haigh has been acquitted in Dubai over charges relating to alleged ‘Twitter abuse’ and will return to the UK.

Haigh, who is also the former managing director of Leeds United, has been imprisoned in Dubai since May 2014. He was first arrested over claims he falsified £3m of invoices in connection with the sale of the football club.

He was due to be released late last year but was detained again after claims emerged he had sent a slanderous tweet about a former colleague. Haigh said he could not have committed the alleged offence while in jail.

A Dubai court has now acquitted Haigh of sending the tweet.

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, acting for GFH Capital, secured a freezing order on his assets in June 2014, which have not yet been released. The order meant Haigh has been unable to pay his legal counsel to fight the Dubai prosecution.

His former lawyers, Stephenson Harwood Dubai managing partner Rovine Chandrasekera and Olswang partner Bernard O’Sullivan, both came off the record in May when the Dubai International Financial Centre refused to release funds.

Haigh has been fighting to be released from jail since his arrest, launching a private prosecution against his former employers last year in the UK courts, which was dismissed.

Haigh instructed Stephenson Harwood to bring a case against former Gibson Dunn & Crutcher partner Peter Gray and his former employers GFH Capital executives Hisham Al Rayes and Jinesh Patel, alleging the trio engaged in “human trafficking” to lure him to Dubai where he is currently in prison. His case was dismissed in June in the West London Magistrates’ Court.