National law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing is to open its first international office by launching in Dubai.

The Anglo-Scots firm has already secured premises in the emirate with the new office due to open its doors to business in September following regulatory approval.

The move will make HBJ Gateley one of the first firms based outside London to open an office in Dubai. The firm is aiming to have 20 staff, including two partners, stationed at the new office within 12 months and has planned for two construction associates to be relocated.

In addition, the 69-partner firm is currently in the process of recruiting an office head with established credentials in the region.

HBJ Gateley already has a client base in the Middle East and hopes to build around its core construction and shipping practices.

The firm's chairman, Bijan Sedghi, who was formerly at Birmingham's Edge Ellison and joined last year, was instrumental in the move. Sedghi has strong connections with the Middle East after previously chairing global engineering business BI Group.

Joint senior partner Mike Ward told Legal Week: "We decided that Dubai fits well alongside our key product areas and we thought this was too good an opportunity to miss. In our niche areas [such as shipping and construction], we can be very successful there."

The news comes during an expansive period for HBJ Gateley, which has already sealed two merger deals this year. The firm secured its first foothold in the City, with London shipping boutique Shaw and Croft, and agreed a tie-up with Glasgow and Edinburgh firm Boyds Solicitors.