Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Middle East corporate head Bruce Embley is set to relocate to London in May after spending the last three years in Dubai.

Embley will take up a new role as chief co-ordinating partner for the Middle East in London, with David Higgins, who relocated to Dubai from London in November to co-lead the corporate group, taking the reins singlehandedly.

Freshfields has four partners in Dubai and is intending to keep numbers stable by relocating another partner – yet to be named – this spring.

Embley told Legal Week: "This is a personal decision. I had set myself the timeline of three years in the Middle East. I have loved it here and I expect at least a third of my business will still be related to the Middle East."