DWF picks Dubai for first international office and puts three-year growth plan in place
With just 35 lawyers spread across four offices, Latham & Watkins admitted last month it had made a mistake in how it launched in the Middle East in 2008, and told staff in Abu Dhabi and Doha that their offices will close by the end of the year with the firm using Dubai and Riyadh to service the region.
Continue reading “Latham halves its offices in the Middle East”
Shimon Peres, the 91-year-old former Israeli president, may not be the most obvious social media fanatic. Yet in 2014 he opened an account on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Facebook, expressing his desire to interact directly with the Chinese people, including its younger generation. The nonagenarian quickly received over 50 million ‘likes’ on his Weibo page.
This symbolises a wider cultural and economic shift. For decades, Israel’s political elite has made much of the nation’s natural affinity with the US and the influential Jewish community there. That umbilical cord to the world’s most powerful nation that has fertilised Israel’s tech and start-up community remains intact. But in recent years, as western pressure and sanctions have been exerted on Israel over its conflict with Palestine, it has turned its sights to the East, where Asian jurisdictions have taken a less judgemental line on its political and military stance.
Continue reading “Trading Places – Israel’s tech-heavy legal market widens its global reach”
Latham & Watkins has internally announced today (18 March) that it will close two offices in the Middle East by the end of the year, shutting down its outposts in Abu Dhabi and Doha, and relocating staff to its Dubai operation.
DWF has chosen Dubai as the location for its first international office as it targets rising levels of construction work in the MENA region with a team of four lawyers including a construction partner hired from Holland & Knight.
Continue reading “International ambitions: DWF picks Dubai for its first international office”
Eversheds has further extended its presence in South Africa, establishing a new formal alliance with Cape Town firm Walkers, which counts clients including EY, Investec, Standard Bank and Woolworths.
Continue reading “Expanding overseas: Eversheds grows South African offering with new alliance”
Firm prepares for association in Egypt with energy focus
US law firm Shearman & Sterling is preparing to open an office in Egypt, marking the firm’s first foray into Africa with plans for an international arbitration and projects practice.
Shearman, which has a five-partner office in Abu Dhabi handling project finance and arbitration work, and a satellite operation in Dubai, is hoping to extend its on-the-ground presence in Egypt as investors return to the country after the revolution in 2011.
Continue reading “Shearman & Sterling plans first African office opening”
Clifford Chance’s (CC’s) special adviser in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, founding partner of local firm Al-Jadaan & Partners with which the Magic Circle firm holds a cooperation agreement, has resigned from his role to chair the Capital Market Authority as it oversees the liberalisation of the country’s financial markets.
Continue reading “Saudi relations: Clifford Chance special adviser resigns to head public regulator”
Yigal Arnon’s Simon Weintraub and Ruth Loven report on the burgeoning Israeli market.
The Israeli legal market has undergone a robust expansion in the last 25 years. In 1990 there were 10,697 lawyers registered with the Israel Bar Association. As of the beginning of 2014 there were 53,750 registered lawyers in Israel. Israel has the highest number per capita of lawyers in the world, with 585 lawyers per 10,000 people. Correspondingly, there has been a significant increase in the size of Israeli law firms. If you look at our law firm as a microcosm you will note that in 1990 there were only 21 lawyers in Yigal Arnon & Co., and currently, in 2014, Yigal Arnon & Co. has approximately 140 lawyers. In 1990 there was no single Israeli law firm which had even 50 lawyers and today there are approximately 11 law firms in Israel who have more than 100 lawyers. Law firms in Israel have been consistently growing in size from year to year with an emphasis on creating large ‘one-stop shop’ law firms.
Continue reading “The Israeli legal market over the last 25 years – then and now”
In August this year, President Obama hosted the largest US-Africa leaders’ summit ever, with the heads of nearly every African nation gathering in Washington DC. As well as working on governance and leadership issues, Obama talked to a business forum hosted in the Mandarin Oriental, with 90 US firms and over 100 major African companies attending, in an attempt to broker deals and build relationships across the Atlantic.
The summit came after 18 months that have seen increasing numbers of US institutions committing money to the continent and stoking opportunities for law firms. But the US is late to the game with Asian, Middle Eastern and European players having an established presence while local developers have become increasingly prominent. Continue reading “Constructing continents – the clients and advisers targeting Africa’s booming infra market”
Firm opens Johannesburg office after hire of Bowman Gilfillan finance team
Allen & Overy (A&O) finally put its stamp on South Africa with the launch of office number 45 in Johannesburg last month. The move sees A&O become the first Magic Circle firm to establish a presence on the ground, with the hire of a banking and finance team from local firm Bowman Gilfillan.
Continue reading “Allen & Overy becomes the first Magic Circle firm to set up in South Africa”
