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 firm confirming that it had received its license to practice in the Emirate and will open its new office in January, headed by current European coordinating partner Joseph Tortorici.
But it’s Dubai’s neighbor, 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 licenses to practice in the Emirate. Also, on Dec. 1, Shearman & Sterling, which opened its Abu Dhabi office in 1975, announced that it was doubling its presence there.
