Norton Rose has bolstered its Middle East practice with the hire of corporate partner Andrew Abernethy for its Dubai office.

Abernethy joined the firm on 2 June from the Wellington office of New Zealand firm Bell Gully, where he was a partner in the corporate finance practice for five years. Before joining Bell Gully, Abernethy spent six years with Shearman & Sterling in New York and is admitted to practise both US and New Zealand law.

His hire is the latest in a series of appointments to Norton Rose's Middle East practice. It follows the March hire of banking partner Karl Rogers and the relocation of Campbell Steedman from Dubai to head the Abu Dhabi office, which launched at the beginning of May.

The City firm, which has four offices across the region, has been moving to rebuild its strength in the Gulf locally after several departures. Last year it lost Middle East project finance head John Inglis to Ashurst while in 2006 Nadim Khan and Zubair Mir quit to join City rival Herbert Smith.

Commenting on the hire, global corporate chief Tim Marsden said: "We have more than enough business in the Gulf and Andrew will hit the ground running. Clients demand a strong M&A presence on the ground and Andrew will be a strong addition to the team."

Norton Rose sealed an alliance with Saudi Arabian practice Abdulaziz Al-Assaf at the end of 2007.