eFinancialCareers

Where there’s money, there are law firms and they’re popping up in the Middle East like wild fires, looking to advise financial players on an increasingly diverse range of products.

Both European and US law firms are heading eastwards to get a piece of the rapidly expanding financial services pie in the GCC.

Last month law firm Latham & Watkins opened three new offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar to focus on M&A, project development and finance, structured finance and capital markets.

In January, Dewey & LeBoeuf appointed three partners to kickstart its new Dubai office, and Clifford Chance is looking to expand its Middle Eastern presence by opening an Abu Dhabi office in April.

William Voge, chair of Latham & Watkins’ Middle East strategy, describes the region as the ‘Silicon Valley’ of the world and says: “The increase in cross-border and regional deal activity presents significant opportunities for our strengths in the twin areas of corporate and finance.”

Latham plans to add three partners in Dubai and a total of 20 lawyers by the end of the year.

Shaan Patel, from recruiters Pathway Resourcing, reckons law firms are keen to bolster their teams: “They are recruiting on all levels from newly qualified to associates and senior associates within both private practices and investment banks. Experience in both sectors is highly valued.”

And they’re getting in early in new areas. Norton Rose, for example, has just appointed Karl Rogers as a partner in Dubai to focus on the fledgling derivatives market as well as structured finance.

He says: “With the continued flow of talented personnel to the region and the increasing focus of the Middle East to the global economy, I see enormous potential for work advising on structured product development.”

And Simmons & Simmons, which bolstered its Dubai operation last year and looked to move into the Islamic finance market, has recently advised on a $650m project financing in Qatar, which used Islamic debt tranches.

The right candidate can earn between $150k and $220k, with a 40-80% bonus on top of that, according to recruiters Hogarth Davies Lloyd.