A subtle shifting of the sands is occurring in the Middle East, with a group of leading international firms questioning the continued need to have multiple offices within the region.
Herbert Smith Freehills, one of the world’s 20-largest firms by revenue, last month became the latest to pull out of Abu Dhabi, closing its five-lawyer office in the capital city of oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) and consolidating its Middle Eastern presence in Dubai and the Qatari capital of Doha. Baker Botts and Latham & Watkins also recently downsized their networks within the region, with Baker Botts closing its Abu Dhabi base in May, and Latham closing in Doha and announcing plans to shutter its Abu Dhabi outpost by the end of the year. Both firms will relocate all affected lawyers to their offices in Dubai (around 13 attorneys in the case of Latham; just four at Baker Botts), and will also retain their offices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Baker Botts now has 19 lawyers in Dubai and eight in Riyadh. Latham currently has 23 lawyers in the UAE and seven in Riyadh.)
