A group of former Dewey & LeBoeuf Dubai partners have filed for creditor protection in the emirate's courts in an attempt to recoup unpaid money they claim they are owed, amid the defunct firm's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. and the U.K.
As a result, a Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) court will next week issue a winding-up order for Dewey's operations in the United Arab Emirates.
Former Dewey Dubai local partner Peter Gray brought the insolvency proceedings against his former firm in April, with the office's former co-managing partners Chris Sioufi and Gavin Watson following suit this month.
Gray -- who was a local partner at Dewey, a role equivalent to of counsel -- has since joined U.S. firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher's Dubai office, while Sioufi and Watson are now at Dechert.
Sajjad Haider Chartered Accountants is expected to be appointed as liquidator next week, with the provisional liquidator's report indicating that a number of staff members are owed approximately $343,000 (£220,000) in unpaid remuneration, including $183,000 (£117,000) personally claimed by Gray. Other unsecured creditors are owed just over $82,000 (£53,000).
The provisional liquidator expects to raise about $902,000 (£578,000) from Dewey's existing cash, receivables and work-in-progress, which is expected to cover what is owed to staff.
Sioufi and Watson, who were equity partners at Dewey, have also made a claim for unpaid remuneration of around $1.85 million (£1.2 million) for 2011 and the first part of 2012.
Dewey, which opened its doors in Dubai in January 2008, withdrew its registration as a regulated services provider last month. The majority of partners and staff from the office have joined rival U.S. firm Dechert, which has taken on the lease of Dewey's former DIFC office in an attempt to expand in the region.
