Morgan Lewis is to open an office in Dubai, the US firm's first base in the Middle East, with the hire of a three-partner team from Vinson & Elkins, including regional managing partner Ayman Khaleq.

The move comes just over a year after Morgan Lewis launched offices in Moscow and Almaty with the hire of a six-partner team from now defunct firm Dewey & LeBoeuf.

Joining Khaleq in Dubai is corporate and transactional patent Jim Knight, and City energy transactions partner Lewis Jones, who will split his time between London and the new base.

Khaleq, a structured finance lawyer who was recently appointed by the International Monetary Fund as an expert in debt capital markets, will be managing partner of the office, while also spending time in Morgan Lewis' London base. Knight will be based part-time in Houston and London.

Both Khaleq and Jones are serving out notice periods with Vinson, while Knight moved over yesterday.

"The scale of deal, project, development, and investment opportunities that our clients entertain in the Middle East is vast," said Morgan Lewis chair Francis Milone. "But we've been looking for the right, best-in-class talent to augment our services, and Ayman, Jim and Lewis are it."

Khaleq, a Chambers-ranked lawyer with a broad knowledge of Islamic finance and investment products, advises a wide range of foreign investors on doing business in the Middle East.

Knight, who has more than 20 years of experience in the US and the Middle East, advises companies and private equity investors on a range of corporate finance matters and capital markets work, while Jones focuses on the development and financing of energy and infrastructure projects.

"Morgan Lewis offers us and our clients a platform that we could not find with any other firm," said Khaleq. "The firm's diverse set of practices and broad geographic footprint will allow us to serve our clients from virtually any location worldwide."

"Morgan Lewis spent as much time speaking to their global clients about how they can benefit from a presence in the Middle East as they did looking at our existing client base, which was really reassuring as they view this as strategic to their existing clients as we do ours ," said Knight. "The firm has a great list of clients, some of whom go back decades."

He said the firm is in the process of seeking licensing approval for the Dubai office and expects to announce timing in the near future.

Morgan Lewis currently has no set targets for lawyer headcount in Dubai, nor any immediate plans for associate recruitment.

The moves leave Vinson with just two partners in Dubai, while it is currently unclear who will replace Khaleq as regional managing partner. The firm was unavailable for comment.