The start of a new quarter is a useful time to take stock of progress and plan for the months ahead.
In this feature, to be published quarterly, we speak to managing partners at local, regional, and international law firms to track what they have been thinking about this past quarter and what they envision for the next.
Below four law firm leaders in Dubai share their thoughts from leveraging artificial intelligence to eyeing regional expansion, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which is undergoing an exceptional period of transformation and presenting opportunities for law firms and clients alike.
Ronald Graham, managing partner at Taylor Wessing, Dubai:
“Having doubled in size over the last two years, Taylor Wessing Dubai has a dedicated sector focus. We have a thriving private wealth practice where we are adding to the team to handle advice in succession, international tax planning, family office advisory work and most recently with the hire of a barrister to handle contentious family business matters. As one of the few international firms in Dubai focusing on this sector, we provide private banks and intermediaries with a broad range of international legal services for their client base in the wealth sector. In venture capital and tech corporate and commercial work, this team has doubled in the last two years and now handles investment rounds, M&A, funds and regulatory work. This team is incredibly busy servicing corporate work across the region.
“We have sought to have one core centre of excellence in Dubai rather than opening offices across the GCC. That said, Saudi is the obvious next stage in our regional growth plans.
“We added a phenomenal IP and media team recently and they have grown to service contentious trademark, licensing and regulatory work across disruptive sectors such as fashion and luxury brands and hotels and hospitality—totally aligned with the our international practice. As the go-to law firm for ambitious and innovative businesses an exciting development is our work in Dubai which relates to AI; advising developers of AI, investors in AI and, not least, our clients incorporating AI into their businesses. We foresee significant growth in this sector.”
Alishia Sullivan, managing partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Dubai:
“Morgan Lewis’s goal of consistently delivering excellence in client service remains paramount, regardless of factors impacting our practice or the market. Operating at the intersection of talent, business, and technology, we are integrating responsible AI to ensure these technologies are used in a manner that is responsible, transparent, and aligned with the long-term interests of our clients, which increasingly is becoming a key characteristic of a successful law firm.
“With our announcement of a future office in Riyadh (subject to regulatory approval), I am also looking forward to strengthening existing client relationships and establishing new ones in this exciting and growing market. By addressing these areas, we strive to enhance our service quality and internal culture, ensuring our firm’s continued success and enhancing the client experience.”
Marco De Leo, managing partner of BonelliErede, Dubai:
“We have been extremely busy over the last year, and the Dubai office has been witnessing incredible growth, not only in international work but also in local remits, and the team has more than doubled in the last three years. The Middle East will be very active in the next five years for sure! This is just the start of the firm’s ambitious plans to further expand the team to meet our clients’ needs in certain strategic industries and markets.
“In particular, we have our eyes set on the KSA, whose Saudi Arabian Vision 2030 presents significant opportunities and potential, and we have already done some interesting work around some ambitious KSA transport projects. Our objective is to continue growing the Dubai office into a regional hub for the GCC and become the law firm of choice for local and international clients in the region.”
Amir AlKhaja, managing partner at Habib Al Mulla and Partners, Dubai:
“As managing partner of a leading UAE law firm, this marks our first year of operating independently again. Our focus was to cement our presence in the UAE and to export our expertise regionally and internationally. We have expanded rapidly on both fronts evident in the opening of our offices in Moscow (May 2024) and Istanbul (November 2023). We have also doubled our fee-earners’ size in the UAE from last year and grew our disputes and transactional capabilities.
“In Q4, we aim to add at least one more jurisdiction as well as investing in establishing a full and comprehensive non-contentious transactional practice in Q3 and Q4.”
Read the insights from quarter two.
