Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has added a new partner to its Abu Dhabi office, with the hire of a lawyer from Linklaters in Dubai.

Construction lawyer Richard Davies is set to join BLP as a partner this autumn after seven years at Linklaters, where he was an associate.

Davies has been based in the magic circle firm's Dubai office for the last three years. He specialises in contentious and non-contentious construction advice across major mixed use developments and rail, petrochemical and power projects.

His hire takes the total number of partners in BLP's Middle East office to five. The firm launched the emirate office in spring 2009.

BLP head of commercial construction John Hughes-D'Aeth said: "Richard's hire is definitely strategic rather than opportunistic.

"The office is now well-established and increasingly we were seeing construction work and opportunities beginning to emerge in the region. With the hire of David Nunn and Mohammed Kamal earlier this year, the built environment practice in the Middle East region was crying out for a local construction presence."

Nunn and Kamal joined BLP in Abu Dhabi in January this year. Nunn previously headed up the Middle East real estate practice for Simmons & Simmons, while Kamal joined BLP from Hogan Lovells in Dubai.

  • Click here for more on BLP's double partner hire in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.