DWF expands in the Middle East with two senior appointments

The firm has appointed Slava Kiryushin as partner and global head of energy and Abdalla Eisa as senior associate, both based in Dubai.

Slava Kiryushin

Abdullah Eisa

DWF has appointed as partner and global head of energy and Abdalla Eisa as senior associate, both based in Dubai. Kiryushin joins DWF from CMS and was previously the general counsel for Lukoil in the Middle East. He specialises in supporting international oil companies and major contractors working on oil and gas projects in the Middle East, in particular in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Kiryushin will be responsible for growing the DWF Energy practice and focusing on the Oil and Gas sector globally at DWF.

Abdalla Eisa joins the business from Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla. He brings substantial experience handling litigation and dispute resolution matters for local, regional and international clients across a number of sectors and areas of UAE law, including real estate, employment, civil, criminal (white collar) and commercial disputes. Eisa joins the Dispute Resolution practice as a senior associate and will be working with James Fox (partner and head of Dispute Resolution for the Middle East) and Haytham Alieh (partner) and Slava Kiryushin.

DWF’s managing partner in the Middle East, Shiraz Sethi commented, “I am pleased to welcome both Slava and Abdalla on board as we continue to expand our Dubai offering. The energy sector is a new market for our office and Slava’s wealth of experience, and strong track record will be instrumental in developing our offering to wide range of clients in the Middle East. Abdalla’s appointment further bolsters our robust litigation practice and brings additional Arabic capabilities to support our local clients.”

Kiryushin added, “DWF is a progressive global legal business, which is looking to strengthen its position as a leading advisor to businesses across a range of sectors. I’m excited by the ambitious international plans and look forward to joining the global energy team.”

Kiryushin and Eisa’s arrival follows the recent senior appointments of Thenji Moyo (Macanda), Jonathan Burton and Ali Al Assad who joined the Dubai office as the co-head of employment, legal director (corporate) and senior associate (employment) respectively.