Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has postponed its plans to launch in the Middle East.  The firm had announced last year that it would open two offices in the region in 2009, but these plans are now on hold in light of global economic conditions.

"We are not short-term speculators, and our analyses and commitments to markets are based on long-term practice and client drivers," said Asia managing partner, Christopher Stephens. "But current economic realities are causing us to reorient several of our traditional operations, and our primary focus now is aimed at achieving better practice efficiency and value for clients."

Stephens added that despite the downturn the firm will still be active in examining potential markets around the world. "The Middle East is an important commercial region and becoming an increasingly important financial centre - global circumstances notwithstanding," he said.

However, not all firms are suspending their Middle East plans. Malaysian firm Zaid Ibrahim & Co intends to continue its expansion in the region after opening a Dubai office last year. The firm plans to use Dubai as its platform to launch in other Gulf jurisdictions this year. "For us, the outlook in the Middle East is positive and since we are new in the region our focus is on building our name here," said Dubai office head, Farid Hussain. "No doubt in places like Dubai which relies heavily on the property sector, other firms may be feeling the impact of the GFC. Our focus here is on infrastructure and Islamic finance, which are doing well despite the downturn, since the government has still made allocations for infrastructure development as this is a necessity."

Orrick recently underwent a second round of lay offs, cutting an additional 300 staff from its global offices, 25 of whom are based in Asia. It had initially cut around 10 lawyers from the Asia offices late last year.