Baker & McKenzie unveils Abu Dhabi plans
INTERNATIONAL LAW firm Baker & McKenzie is in the process of applying for the relevant business licenses to open an office in Abu Dhabi.
The firm expects to have opened in the Emirate by the end of 2008, after reviewing office locations and recruiting from the region.
Executive committee chairman John Conroy said: 'By expanding to Abu Dhabi, we will be better positioned to put our decades of experience to work for clients looking to grow their business in this
dynamic region.'
'Recently, the region has seen higher levels of economic growth and investment in the energy-related industries, as well as real estate and other sectors.'
The firm expects to have assembled a team of some 50 lawyers prior to opening, with skill sets in the areas of corporate, banking and finance, capital markets, oil and gas, arbitration and property, among others.
Partner Borus Dackiw is also to become the firm's managing partner of the Gulf region, which includes Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Dackiw previously led the firm's Prague office in the Czech Republic.
Other firms to have launched in Abu Dhabi in 2008 include Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Ashurst, Latham & Watkins and Berwin Leighton Paisner.