Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

DWF has signed an exclusive association with a firm in Saudi Arabia and added two partners to its Dubai office.

The firm has signed an exclusive association with two-partner Saudi firm Harasani & Alkhamees, which has offices in Riyadh and Jeddah and focuses on litigation, construction, corporate work, family and private client issues for domestic and international clients.

DWF managing partner and CEO Andrew Leaitherland said: "Saudi Arabia is a hugely important jurisdiction for DWF as we grow in the Middle East… we have sought an association partner who places the same emphasis on the highest levels of client service. We were immediately impressed by named partners Dr Hamid Harasani and Dr Ahmad Alkhamees as they share our vision of building a first-class, client-focused practice based on innovation both in the region and internationally."

The firm has also boosted its Dubai office, which it launched in 2015, with the addition of two partners.

Construction lawyer John Coghlan has joined the firm as a partner from Addleshaw Goddard in Qatar, where he was a legal director, while litigator Haytham Alieh has also joined the firm as a partner. Alieh was previously group general counsel of engineering company Lindenberg-Emirates, prior to which he was head of litigation for Baker McKenzie in Abu Dhabi.

Middle East managing partner Waseem Khokhar said the new hires "bring to the firm a huge wealth of knowledge, which will complement the team's ability to deliver high value work to DWF's clients".

Earlier this week, Dentons announced that it has opened its first office in Jeddah, relocating Riyadh regulatory partner Anas Akel to lead the base.

Both Clifford Chance (CC) and Herbert Smith Freehills confirmed this week that they are to close their Qatar operations this year, transferring staff in the state to offices in Dubai.

Addleshaws' Qatar office has seen a degree of churn recently, with office head Hussein Damirji leaving to join LMN Capital Partners, and CC banking counsel Robin Hickman joining as a partner to head up its Doha finance team.