Law firm highlights

• DLA Piper has opened its second office in Saudi Arabia and has announced plans for a third office opening before the end of the year, taking the total number of Middle East offices to eight. The firm opened its Riyadh office in 2006 and although it has been operating from a Jeddah base for a number of years, the opening of an official office signifies the investment and commitment the firm has in the Kingdom. The Jeddah office will be run by legal director Rakesh Bassi, who joined DLA Piper last year, from Clifford Chance, to further support the expansion of the Saudi offering. In addition, DLA Piper is in the process of finalising arrangements relating to a third office in the Eastern Provence to service both locally based clients and to support those based in Bahrain with strong ties to the Eastern area of Saudi Arabia. DLA Piper operates in Saudi Arabia in association with Dr Eyad Reda law firm and has a strong presence across the Middle East region, with offices in all six GCC countries.

• Clyde & Co organised the 7th edition of the Middle East Arbitrtaion Roadshow at The Address Downtown on April 22, 2014. The session focused on how to draft and negotiate arbitration clauses in commercial contracts highlighting the importance of drafting the right arbitration clause for your commercial needs and common pitfalls to avoid. Through an interesting mock presentation, the firm provided practical tips and demonstrated negotiation techniques that can be employed to conclude effective and enforceable terms to secure transactiona. Questions were invited from the attendees which were answered by an expert panel of Richard Bell, Mark Blanksby, Alec Emmerson and Susie Abdel-Nabi of Clyde & Co. The roadshow alos took place in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

 Sumit Soni

• Al Tamimi & Company has announced an expansion of its presence in Saudi Arabia by opening an office in Jeddah, the firm’s second office presence in the country. The new Jeddah office will be led by Sumit Soni, who has previously practiced in Canada, the Cayman Islands and Saudi Arabia. Soni has over seven years of experience in Saudi Arabia handling general corporate commercial matters, including M&A and joint ventures. He also advises clients on a wide range of Islamic finance and conventional lending matters. The firm’s second Saudi office will be located in Jameel Square, Tahlia Street, Jeddah.

• Hogan Lovells has broadened its global footprint by launching an Intellectual Property, Media and Technology (IPMT) offering in the Middle East. The practice is being led out of the firm's Dubai office, headed by Hogan Lovells lawyer Peter Hansen. He joined the firm's Tokyo office in 2012, having previously lived and worked in the Middle East since 2001. 

• Trowers & Hamlins has annouced that it has become the first foreign law firm to be granted a Qualified Foreign Law Firm (QFLF) licence in Malaysia.  The licence was approved by the Malaysian Bar Council and is effective from 4 April 2015.  The QFLF licence will allow Trowers & Hamlins to operate independently in Malaysia and advise on international legal issues, subject to certain restrictions.  Firms with a QFLF, and firms that enter into International Partnerships licensed by the Malaysian Bar Council, will not be permitted to advise on Malaysian Law, which remains the preserve of the local law firms.  The QFLF licence will last for three years and is renewable. Prior to receiving its QFLF licence, Trowers & Hamlins operated a non-trading representative Regional Office in Kuala Lumpur following approval from the Malaysia Investment Development Authority (MIDA).  When the office opened in July 2012, Trowers & Hamlins was the first foreign law firm – and the only UK law firm – to establish a representative Regional Office in Malaysia.