Freshfields has relocated partner Tobias Muller-Deku to its Riyadh office in yet another sign that confidence is returning to the Gulf region after a tumultuous six months.
Muller- Deku, who comes from the firm’s Munich office, will play a role in building the firm’s Saudi finance and securities practice in addition to working on corporate matters. In his new role, he will work alongside Riyadh corporate partner Patrick Ko (Ko and international arbitration lawyer Reza Mohtashami were elevated to partnership earlier this year) and the office’s co-head Fares Al-Hejailan.
The move brings the firm’s presence in the region to six partners and approximately 40 lawyers across its four Gulf offices – in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai and Riyadh. In Saudi Arabia, Freshfields has a strategic alliance with local firm Salah Al-Hejailan.
Muller-Deku’s move may well be an indication that confidence has returned to a Gulf region hit hard by the global downturn. Last month fellow UK firm Clyde & Co increased its footprint in the region by opening its second office in Dubai; and one of the region’s largest local firms, Al Tamimi & Co, boosted its partner ranks with the lateral hire of Jane Coakley, a former principal with Dubai’s financial services regulator.
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