US firm Bryan Cave has added two UK-qualified lawyers to its Middle East practice and has signalled its intention to build its London office.
James McPhail, who previously worked in-house at the Kuwait Petroleum Corp, joins the Kuwait office, while Richard Tyner joins the Dubai office from the Sawaff law firm in Jeddah.
McPhail is replacing Bryan Cave's only resident partner in Kuwait, who is returning to the US.
The firm also recently sent a lawyer from the London office to the Middle East and will send another lawyer to the region from the US in May.
Bryan Cave's head of international practice, John Lonsberg, said the hires were part of a concerted effort to "anglicise" the firm.
He said Bryan Cave was also currently recruiting more UK lawyers for its London office, which has eight fee earners.
Bryan Cave has operated in the Middle East since 1980 and now has 11 US and UK lawyers working there, alongside several local and Egyptian lawyers.
The firm is the third-largest in the region in terms of numbers of lawyers. Fox & Gibbons, which is now part of Denton Hall, and Baker & McKenzie are the first- and second-largest.