SNR Denton has appointed Stuart Cavet as the new managing partner of its Kuwait base after the former office head's resignation last autumn.

Cavet, who joined the firm as a partner in July 2010 in a lateral move from Simmons & Simmons, is currently based in Abu Dhabi but will relocate to Kuwait to lead the office.

He takes up the role after former Kuwait head David Pfeiffer left SNR Denton last autumn. Pfeiffer is currently in the process of launching a Kuwait office for Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle.

Cavet's practice in corporate and energy-related work is in line with the areas SNR Denton is focusing on in Kuwait, including energy, infrastructure and project finance, corporate and commercial, TMT, tax and litigation. The office operates in the oil-rich country in association with Kuwaiti firm International Legal Group.

The appointment comes as the firm has also hired a Kuwaiti-focused partner in its Washington DC office, where oil and gas partner Karl Hopkins joined last month along with a two-lawyer team from Dewey & LeBoeuf's Houston base.

Recent Kuwaiti instructions for SNR Denton have included acting as local advisers to GDF Suez on the Az Zour Independent Water and Power Project, which forms part of a Government- led public-private partnership scheme in the country.

The firm is also working alongside KPMG and Atkins to advise the Kuwaiti Government's Partnerships Technical Bureau and Ministry of Communications on plans to build a superfast broadband network in the country. The deal, led by London corporate head Richard Barham and Kuwait lawyer Nora Al-Haroun, will see international investors invited to bid for a long-term contract to operate and maintain the network.

SNR Denton EMEA CEO Matthew Jones said: "Kuwait is a key market within our Middle East network and for a number of our global sector focuses, including energy and TMT."

SNR Denton has 10 offices in the Middle East region with a total of around 170 lawyers and legal staff.