Al Tamimi law firm news

UAE law firm Hadef & Partners has grown its Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices by 10 new additions – a move that the firm says is in response to growing client requirements for specialist UAE law advice. Practice areas slated for growth include banking & finance, corporate, dispute resolution, government regulation and employment.

Despite the current social and political commotion in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, Baker & McKenzie has launch an office in Doha, Qatar – the capital that registered the highest GDP growth globally in 2010.

Norton Rose has promoted banking of counsel Joanne Emerson-Taqi and corporate finance senior associate Dino Wilkinson to the firm’s global partnership in a 15-strong promotion round that includes seven females.

Senior partner in Clyde & Co's global aviation group, Jim Edmunds, has left the firm – taking senior Clyde associate Anthony Frances with him – to help launch UK aviation specialist firm Gate and Partners in Dubai.

Gulf firm Al Tamimi has promoted the head of its Jordan and Iraq offices, Khaled Saqqaf and Qatar-based lawyers Stefan Jury and Hani Al Naddaf to its partnership with immediate effect.

UAE firm Habib Al Mulla has lured Nicholas Diacos from Al Tamimi to head up its Abu Dhabi office.

Al Tamimi, the largest independent law firm in the Middle East, has laterally hired Abu Dhabi’s Jay Fortin from Patton Boggs to lead its office in Doha, Qatar – a key jurisdiction for Al Tamimi. Fortin’s appointment is effective Jan 2011.

Al Tamimi & Company has appointed Paul Turner as regional head of its arbitration group. Turner joins the firm from the London office of Clyde & Co, where he was a litigation partner specialiSing in cross-border disputes across the Middle East with a particular focus on Iraq, Iran and Libya.

Jumeirah chief legal officer and general counsel Robert Swade has ruthlessly culled the group’s legal panel from 12 firms to five this year – with Al Tamimi, Mayer Brown, Clyde & Co and Pinsent Masons the only firms out of the original 12 to survive unscathed.

Latham & Watkins is set to boost its Middle East corporate practice with the appointment of Ahmed Anani – the Qatar head of prominent regional law firm Al Tamimi & Co – in a move that strengthens Latham’s presence in the Middle East, in particular Saudi Arabia.

The firm saw its profits per equity partner for the 2009/2010 financial year slide to £527,000 (US$801,514) from £645,000 (US$980,980) in the previous year- which represents an 18 percent drop.

Dubai-based lawyers from firms including Clifford Chance, Clyde & Co and Al Tamimi who sit on the DIFC Court’s Users Committee will see their responsibilities broadened as part of a revised charter.

King & Spalding has promoted Jawad Ali as the new managing partner of its Middle East operations

DLA Piper has cited increased demand for its lobbying and governmental relations services as the rationale behind its impending opening in Turkey, according to its co-chairman, Lord Clement-Jones

A week after breaking into the Australian market, Allen & Overy has opened an office in the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC)

Vinson & Elkins has boosted its headcount in the Middle East with the appointment of two new partners.

Al Tamimi & Co has confirmed that the firm’s managing partner since 2005, Hoda Barakat, has stepped down from the role by retiring from the partnership.

A panel of legal industry pundits predict Tiger-Year trends and provide a guide to the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead

Al Tamimi & Co has boosted its Abu Dhabi office through the appointment of a new head of office, partner and associate, raising the firm’s headcount by three.

Shariah-compliant law firm Agha & Shamsi has appointed former DLA Piper lawyer Claire Grainger as partner to head its projects and dispute resolution practice.