NEXT
Sign in to follow

International Edition

Nice work... if you can get it

These are bleak times for corporate lawyers. But there is one ray of light in this storm - sovereign wealth funds. These funds, which are loosely defined as investment vehicles owned by foreign governments, have generated many headlines over the past 18 months. Their high-profile transactions range from the buyout of luxury retailer Barneys New York to multibillion-dollar investments in Wall Street banks. In 2007 alone, sovereign entities spent $92bn (£61.3bn) in publicly recorded equity transactions, according to Monitor Group.But the real moment for sovereign wealth funds is now. These powerhouse investors globally control about $2.3trn (£1.5trn), a pocketbook that exceeds both the private equity and hedge fund industries. And they could quadruple in size by the middle of the next decade, even with the global slowdown and the recent decline in oil prices, according to Morgan Stanley chief currency economist Stephen Jen. Funds in the Gulf region account for more than half of those sums.
18 minute read

International Edition

Simmons relocates partner duo to Dubai HQ

Simmons & Simmons has boosted its offering in the Middle East with the transfer of two finance partners to the firm's Dubai base. Banking and restructuring partner Phillip Abbott and debt capital market specialist Natalie Boyd have both made the move to the Middle East, bringing the number of finance partners in the Gulf region to five.Middle East regional managing partner Paul Simpson said: "The firm's commitment to finance in the Gulf is clear with finance partners in each of its offices in Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Having partners of Philip and Natalie's calibre relocating to the region sends a strong signal to the market."
2 minute read

International Edition

Middle East firm opens first Saudi office

Al Tamimi & Company has opened an office in Riyadh. The Middle East firm is the only foreign law firm licensed to practise in Saudi Arabia under its own name without a local association. The office is led by banking and finance partner Nicholas Diacos and corporate and commercial partner Mohammad Arif Saeed.
1 minute read

International Edition

Shearman adds partner trio to Abu Dhabi arm

Shearman & Sterling is ramping up its efforts in the Middle East with a significant expansion of the firm's Abu Dhabi office. The office - which opened in 1975 - is set to double in size with the addition of three partners and a number of associates.M&A partner James Comyn will head out to the region this month, while Paris capital markets partner Manuel Orillac will join the office next year. They will be joined by London-based property partner Ian Nisse, who is relocating to the office in 2010.
2 minute read

International Edition

Garrigues to open second arm in Morocco

Garrigues is to open a second office in Morocco, with a launch in Tangiers planned for the beginning of next year. The Spanish giant looks likely to become the first foreign law firm with two offices in the North African country when it launches the base in January. The office will be staffed with three fee earners, with two relocating from Casablanca and one from Seville. Casablanca managing partner Jose Ignacio Garcia Muniozguren will become head of the Moroccan practice, overseeing both bases.
1 minute read

International Edition

Charles Russell moves office to Bahrain WTC

Charles Russell has relocated its Bahrain office to the newly-built Bahrain World Trade Centre. The firm first moved to the region in August 2007, with the office becoming the firm's first permanent location in the Middle East. The firm made the move in order to gain more space and take advantage of improved technology.
1 minute read

International Edition

Kilpatrick launches Dubai construction practice

Kilpatrick Stockton has opened a Dubai office to expand its construction practice into the Middle East. It will be headed by Atlanta-based partner Thomas Wilson, who has relocated to the Middle East for the launch along with one senior associate. The two-lawyer office is working with several US clients that are also newcomers to the region, but hopes to also represent local participants in the Gulf construction boom
1 minute read

International Edition

CC and Latham line up for £7bn Barclays financing

Clifford Chance (CC) is leading a quartet of legal advisers to secure principal roles on the £7bn cash injection into Barclays from the Middle East. CC fielded a team under corporate partners Guy Norman and Patrick Sarch. The instruction extends a growing list of mandates CC has handled this year for Barclays - one of its core clients - including acting on its high-stakes purchase of Lehman Brothers' US business.Norman also advised Barclays on its opt-out of receiving a capital boost from the UK Government after planning to raise more than £6.5bn of tier one capital without state help. Barclays had to obtained the opt-out after the Government this month unveiled its plan to recapitalise a group of the UK's largest banks, which introduced tougher standards on bank financing.
2 minute read

International Edition

Dewey set for double Middle East office launch

Dewey & LeBoeuf is set to boost its Middle East presence with the launch of two new offices in Abu Dhabi and Doha. The licences for the two new offices are currently pending, but the firm expects both operations to be up and running by early 2009.London-based project finance partner Stephen Jurgenson is to relocate to the Middle East to head the Abu Dhabi office, supported by Dubai-based project finance partner John Podgore, who will split his time between Abu Dhabi and Doha.
2 minute read

International Edition

DLA Piper loses Dubai Islamic finance head

DLA Piper has lost the leader of its global Islamic finance practice, Oliver Agha, who has left the firm along with three other lawyers. Agha joined DLA Piper's Dubai office in February 2007 from Clifford Chance's Saudi ally Al-Jadaan. Following his departure, projects partner Debbie Barbour will take over the Islamic finance practice.
1 minute read

More from ALM

More from ALM

Legal Speak is a weekly podcast that makes sense of what’s happening in the legal industry.

Resources

  • Why Embracing Change Is Essential for Your Legal Department

    Brought to you by DiliTrust

    Download Now

  • International Export and Trade Assistance State Law Survey

    Brought to you by LexisNexis®

    Download Now

  • How This Personal Injury Firm Reduced Client Intake Time by 80%

    Brought to you by PracticePanther

    Download Now

  • The Hidden Cost of Bad Reviews: Why Law Firms & Attorneys Can't Afford a Damaged Online Reputation

    Brought to you by Erase.com

    Download Now