CC set for Abu Dhabi launch after licence win
Clifford Chance (CC) is set to become the latest City firm to launch an office in Abu Dhabi, with an opening date set for the end of this week (3 August) after the firm won a license to practise last month. A ten-lawyer team will be led on the ground by Dubai-based banking and finance partner Richard Ernest, and overseen from Dubai by Gulf managing partner Graham Lovett. The office will be manned by three partners, including Ernest, Peter Deegan and Chris Walsh.
July 29, 2008 at 07:06 AM
2 minute read
Clifford Chance (CC) is set to become the latest City firm to launch an office in Abu Dhabi, with an opening date set for the end of this week (3 August) after the firm won a license to practise last month.
A ten-lawyer team will be led on the ground by Dubai-based banking and finance partner Richard Ernest, and overseen from Dubai by Gulf managing partner Graham Lovett. The office will be manned by three partners, including Ernest, Peter Deegan and Chris Walsh.
Real estate partner Deegan will relocate to Abu Dhabi from CC's Warsaw office, while capital markets partner Walsh will be seconded from London. Ernest has been a partner with CC for 11 years, also based in London, Moscow and Frankfurt.
The firm expects the Abu Dhabi office to grow to 20-30 lawyers in two to three years due to growing demand in capital markets, projects, corporate, real estate and litigation.
Lovett described Abu Dhabi as one of the most dynamic regions in the Middle East, commenting: "The pace of development and change here has created a new legal landscape and we need to have a presence on the ground to develop and strengthen our key client relationships."
He also said CC intends to strengthen its relationship in Riyadh, where it has worked with local firm Jadaan & Partners since 10 years.
CC has had a presence in the United Arab Emirates for 33 years but the Dubai office has seen substantial growth since 2004, increasing the lawyer count from 26 to 70.
Firms to receive a license to practice in Abu Dhabi this year include Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, DLA Piper, Ashurst, Norton Rose and Eversheds and US firms Hogan & Hartson and Latham & Watkins.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
McKinsey Subsidiary to Pay Over $122 Million to Settle US Investigation into South Africa Bribery Case
Gibson Dunn, Linklaters Advise on Talabat’s $2BN IPO in World’s Largest Tech IPO of 2024
2 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
