Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has confirmed it is re-entering Riyadh with an exclusive association with local firm Nasser Al-Hamdan and the hire of partner from White & Case.

Legal Week reported in October that the firm was preparing to launch an office in the city.

HSF has appointed two partners to the Riyadh office. Euan Pinkerton joins HSF in Riyadh from White & Case, where he was a partner in the energy, infrastructure, project and asset finance group.

Nasser Al-Hamdan is managing partner of Nasser Al-Hamdan in association with HSF and has been elected a partner at HSF. He has previously worked in both the US and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabian rules prevent international law firms opening in the country without a local partner firm.

The Riyadh launch comes two years after HSF terminated an exclusive association with Saudi Arabian firm Al-Ghazzawi Professional Association (GPA) in August 2013. The decision, which both firms said was mutual, ended an exclusive relationship which began in 2008.

The Riyadh opening is the second international office opening for HSF this year. Earlier this month, the firm announced it was set to launch in Johannesburg, its first office in South Africa.

HSF also announced today that it has expanded its Dubai office with the appointment of partner Anthony Ellis.

Ellis joins the firm from DLA Piper's Dubai office where he has spent over seven years leading the development of several large scale power, water and process plant projects in the Middle East and Africa.

HSF has recently realigned its strategy in the United Arab Emirates to focus on Dubai. HSF closed its Abu Dhabi office in the summer and transferred its lawyers and staff to Dubai. HSF still has an office in the Qatari capital Doha.

Earlier this year, US firm Shearman & Sterling struck an alliance with Riyadh-based practice Abdulaziz Alassaf & Partners, which has 16 lawyers.