Jones Day has expanded its Dubai arm with the hire of banking and finance partner Eric Milne from Simmons & Simmons.

Milne joined Jones Day last month after two years as a partner in Simmons' Dubai office, prior to which he was at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

He specialises in international banking and finance project and asset finance, and advises commercial and investment banks and corporate borrowers.

Milne becomes the third partner in the US firm's Dubai office, which opened in March this year, with the relocation of two partners from London and Washington DC respectively.

Milne said: "More and more we see clients looking for seamless advice across the range of jurisdictions in which they operate. This is increasingly true in the Middle East where there is renewed outbound and inbound investment activity across industry sectors after the slight dip in 2009."

Jones Day's Dubai office focuses on banking and finance, corporate, energy and arbitration and dispute resolution. Milne has previously worked on a number of deals in the region, including advising telecommunications company MTN Group on its acquisition of Dubai-based Investcom for $5.5bn (£3.5bn) in 2006.

Arman Galledari, the former London-based projects partner heading up the Dubai arm, said: "With all the investment interest reflected in numerous project finance and infrastructure deals, Eric's experience will allow us to advance the international focus of our practice and help serve clients on inbound and outbound investment opportunities."