Middle East Growth: Baker Botts Opens Abu Dhabi Office; Triples Lawyer Headcount

Published July 1st, 2009 - 09:03 GMT

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Client demand for legal services in the Middle East continues to fuel expansion for Baker Botts L.L.P., prompting the firm to increase its commitment to the region by opening an office in Abu Dhabi -- its third in the Middle East -- and upgrading and expanding the firm's current offices in Dubai and Riyadh.

Abu Dhabi is a natural fit for Baker Botts given the firm's extensive background in energy-related matters, which has been recently confirmed by a Band 1 ranking in Chambers Global 2009 Projects & Energy: Oil and Gas and Projects Work categories.

The growth of office space corresponds with the increase of Baker Botts lawyers in the region. During the past five years, the firm has more than tripled the number of lawyers based in the Middle East. When Baker Botts opened its Dubai office in early 2005, there were only five Baker Botts lawyers in the region. Now more than 20 Baker Botts lawyers work with clients from offices in Dubai, Riyadh and the recently-established Abu Dhabi location.

"Since we opened in Dubai, clients either based in or with interests in the Middle East have increasingly sought out our lawyers for assistance on a broad range of matters. We reached the point where we needed to expand our resources in order to maintain the high level of client service that is a trademark of our firm," said Baker Botts Managing Partner Walt Smith.

During the past year, Baker Botts lawyers have worked on significant representations from Middle East offices as the firm builds a strong footprint in the region. These representations include a major independent power project program, a number of key merger and acquisition matters, projects relating to the development of Iraq's oil and gas fields, and the financing of expansion plans for a number of chemical plants.

Recently, Shibeer Ahmed joined Baker Botts as a partner in Dubai. Ahmed has extensive experience in conventional banking and infrastructure and power project finance, with expertise in Islamic financing that encompasses project, structured and syndicated financings. He also advises clients on financings involving export credit agencies, development finance institutions and multilateral agencies.

In addition, Greg Golden, a partner in the firm's Washington, D.C. office with an extensive background in international transactional matters, has relocated to the region to serve as the Partner in Charge of the firm's new Abu Dhabi office.

Baker Botts lawyers in Abu Dhabi will work closely with the firm's resources in Dubai and Riyadh to provide services to clients throughout the Middle East. The firm intends to occupy space in Tower 1 of the new Sowwah Square Central Business District development in Abu Dhabi when the building is completed, which could be as early as mid-2010. While the building is under construction, firm lawyers will work out of office space in the Al Bateen Area of Abu Dhabi.

Further evidence of Baker Botts' regional growth is the doubling of the firm's office space in Dubai and Riyadh. In July 2008, Baker Botts moved into new offices at Emaar Square in Dubai. The office is located between the landmark Burj Dubai and the Dubai International Finance Center (DIFC). In Riyadh, the firm is finishing out space in the Mashareq Tower, a new building facing King Fahad Road in downtown Riyadh. This space should be completed this summer.