For the aspiring global firm, a shingle in Dubai has been one of the must-haves of the last five years. Last week Weil Gotshal & Manges joined the pack, with the New York law firm confirming that it had received its licence to practise in the Emirate and will open its new office in January, headed by current European co-ordinating partner Joseph Tortorici.
But it is its Dubai’s neighbour, Abu Dhabi, that has increasingly been the focus for international firms eager to win work from local corporations and sovereign wealth funds awash with petro-dollars. This year alone, Latham & Watkins, Clifford Chance, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Ashurst have all received their licences to practise in the Emirate. Also, this month Shearman & Sterling, which opened its Abu Dhabi office in 1975, announced that it was doubling its presence there.
