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International Edition

Reed Smith in Dubai shipping launch

Reed Smith Richards Butler is launching a shipping team in Dubai with the relocation of City partner Adam Morgan, as the US firm gears up to develop its international shipping practice. Shipping and aviation finance partner Morgan moves to Dubai on 1 April. His experience includes leading the shipping practice at legacy City firm Richards Butler between 2000 until 2004 and previously spent a decade in Hong Kong.
2 minute read

International Edition

Norton Rose leads on landmark London sukuk

Norton Rose has advised on the first-ever listing of a sovereign sukuk bond on the London Stock Exchange. The top 10 City firm advised the Kingdom of Bahrain, a longstanding Norton Rose client, on the issue of its £176.8m al-Ijara bond. The listing started trading on 20 March.
2 minute read

International Edition

CMS hits Middle East after Beirut firm signs up

CMS Cameron McKenna has joined the ranks of City firms targeting the Middle East after the addition of Lebanon's largest law firm, Levant Lawyers, to its network of alliance members. Fifty-lawyer Levant becomes the first CMS member firm in the region following discussions with the UK, German, French and Italian representatives of the alliance.
2 minute read

International Edition

Norton Rose prepares for Middle East growth with banking hire

Norton Rose has strengthened its Middle East banking practice with the hire of partner Karl Rogers in Dubai. Rogers joined the firm on Monday (10 March) to head up a regional structured products practice - work Norton Rose has previously been covering from the UK. He will initially lead a team of three banking associates based in Dubai and Bahrain.
2 minute read

International Edition

Firms undercut fees to grab slice of Dubai pie

The raft of firms opening in Dubai in recent months is leading to falls in charge-out rates in the region. Top 10 UK firms, as well as smaller City rivals, are among those reported to be undercutting fees for work, with lawyers operating in the market saying the trend has increased significantly over the last 12 months.Energy, project finance work and construction are named as practices where undercutting is most likely to happen, with those trying to build relationships with sovereign wealth funds also likely candidates.
2 minute read

International Edition

Commercial and Chancery Bar: Centre point

In an article entitled 'Starting from Scratch' on 29 March, 2007, Legal Week reported on the ambitious plans for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and its Court. In the subsequent year the world's leading financial institutions have continued to pour into the centre and the list of law firms with a presence in the DIFC now include Akin Gump, Allen & Overy, Al Tamimi & Co, Ashurst, Clifford Chance, Conyers Dill & Pearman, Denton Wilde Sapte, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Lovells, Maples and Calder, Norton Rose, Reed Smith Richards Butler, Simmons & Simmons and Walkers. In addition, the UK law firms Kennedys and Clyde & Co, which are based in greater Dubai, have also been active in the DIFC Court. It is notable that in January the International Bar Association (IBA) established its Middle East office in the DIFC. The opening of the office was timed to correspond with the IBA's Arab regional forum's conference on Islamic finance in the Middle East. The DIFC has set its sights on becoming the world centre for Islamic finance and is itself an active investor. In June 2007, DIFC Investments listed a $1.25bn (£630m) sukuk on the Dubai International Financial Exchange, taking the total value of sukuk listed on the exchange to $10.43bn (£5.26bn) - the highest of any exchange worldwide. The DIFC has also been an active investor in international markets and acquired a 2.2% stake in Deutsche Bank, which, according to publicly-available market data, makes it the largest external strategic shareholder in the international investment bank.
7 minute read

International Edition

Pressure to open in Abu Dhabi sees licence approval backlog

Some of the UK's leading law firms are having to push back their long-awaited launches in Abu Dhabi due to delays in receiving their licences from local authorities. The move comes as growing numbers of firms rush to the region amid increasing pressure from local clients, including coveted sovereign wealth funds, to launch offices in Abu Dhabi as well as Dubai.
3 minute read

International Edition

Dubai courts pick up heavyweight UK trio

Three UK heavyweights have bagged key roles in the latest round of judicial appointments at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), it was announced last month. Essex Court Chambers door tenant David Williams QC and Anthony Colman - who returned to the top-ranking set after retiring as a commercial court judge last June - have both been appointed as judges at the DIFC courts.
2 minute read

International Edition

London arbitration body in Dubai JV launch

The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) have launched a joint venture in the Middle East, it was announced yesterday (17 February). The DIFC LCIA Arbitration Centre aims to boost the profile of the emirate as a venue for international arbitration and mediation services. The new centre will have access to the LCIA's database of arbitrators and will closely follow LCIA rules.
2 minute read

International Edition

Latham and Freshfields set for Middle East push as firms target new markets

Latham & Watkins and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are set for key strategic initiatives in the Middle East as top law firms move to ramp up their practices in the world's main emerging markets. US-based Latham looks set to become the latest adviser to launch in the competitive Middle East market after hiring a partner from Vinson & Elkins, while Freshfields is transferring more lawyers from London to the region.
3 minute read

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