Bird & Bird Middle East debut gets approval from partnership
Bird & Bird is set to launch its first Middle East office after partners approved plans for a base in Abu Dhabi last week. The expansive City firm filed an application to practise in Abu Dhabi earlier this week following a firmwide vote, which closed last Friday (21 May) with a vast majority of partners backing the plans.
May 26, 2010 at 04:59 AM
2 minute read
TMT leader gears up for Abu Dhabi launch in first Middle East move
Bird & Bird is set to launch its first Middle East office after partners approved plans for a base in Abu Dhabi last week.
The expansive City firm filed an application to practise in Abu Dhabi earlier this week following a firmwide vote, which closed last Friday (21 May) with a vast majority of partners backing the plans.
Following approval of the licence, international joint corporate head Mark Pinder (pictured) will relocate to the Emirate to spearhead the new launch.
Pinder will be joined by former Linklaters technology and intellectual property head Tim Schwarz, who was hired by Bird & Bird in September last year. Schwarz will split his time between Abu Dhabi and London but spend the majority in the Middle East.
The firm will also move three associates from around its international network and, subject to licence approval, hopes to set up a five-lawyer base in the Emirate after the summer, with a focus on telecoms, healthcare and life sciences, as well as aviation and aerospace.
Pinder will remain co-head of the international corporate group but stepped down from his UK corporate co-head role as plans were approved. Neil Blundell will now be the sole leader of the UK group.
Bird & Bird said it chose Abu Dhabi as its first Middle East base as a strategic hub to service the larger region, with the law firm taking an additional interest in Saudi, Doha and Bahrain. The firm has a number of existing relationships in the Emirate, including Abu Dhabi-based telecoms company Etisalat.
Pinder commented: "The Middle East is an area of great potential given our strength in Europe and Asia. I am excited as this could be a opportunity for us to tap into existing and new client demand in the region. There are a lot of firms in the Middle East but few with our special industry focus."
This content has been archived.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
Ropes & Gray, Willkie Farr, KWM, Dechert Act on Xerox's $1.5B Buy in China
Freshfields, MoFo Act on $1.8B TOPPAN Deal As Japan's US Buying Spree Continues
Cox & Palmer to Merge with Benson Buffett in St. John’s, Canada’s Easternmost City
2 minute read
Trending 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
