In its latest financial results, Dentons announced revenue in the UK, Ireland, and Middle East (UKIME) region surpassed the £300 million mark.
The world’s largest law firm reported £306 million revenue for the year to April 30, an increase of 9% from the previous year, when revenue was £280.5 million.
Middle East revenue surged by 9%, and by 23% over the past four years, led by the firm’s growing Saudi operation. Beyond this, Dentons did not provide a numerical breakdown of revenue in the Middle East, or for its UK and Ireland operation.
“Passing £300 million in revenue is a major milestone for our region,” said Abu Dhabi-based UKIME CEO Paul Jarvis. “We have achieved this through organic growth and as a result of the strategic choices we made four years ago to develop deeper client relationships and invest in high growth markets.”
“Appointing excellent client relationship partners to lead diverse teams that deliver a firmwide experience has led to a step-change in the strength of our key client relationships, and the profile of work they entrust to us. We had some stand-out performances from corporate, disputes, real estate, and people, reward and mobility,” added Jarvis.
Global CEO Kate Barton said. “Our UKIME region is an engine of growth for the global firm and I am delighted at how we continue to bring solutions to our clients here and around the world.”
In its latest financial results, Dentons reported that inbound work accounted for 12% of its UKIME revenue, while outbound work made up 13%. Over the past two years, the UKIME region saw 19 lateral hires and 22 internal partner promotions.
Dentons has seven Middle East offices in Amman, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Muscat, and Riyadh.
Corporate partner Nik Colbridge recently relocated from London to Dubai to take advantage of expanding capital markets opportunities in the region. The firm has also made a string of new partner hires in the Middle East in the past year, including: Abdullah Alsulaimi, who joined the dispute resolution team in Riyadh, and Stephen McKenna and Ross Barfoot, who joined the firm’s corporate team in Abu Dhabi. Ahmed Butt joined the Dubai office in January as a partner in the banking and finance team, and both Faris Shehabi and Hazel Shakur Quinn were promoted to the partnership in Dubai in May.
The firm also saw departures in the past year. Alex Roussos recently left his role as managing partner and co-head of the Middle East banking and finance practice for Greenberg Traurig based across the firm’s UAE and Saudi Arabia offices, while Ahmed El-Bayouk left his role as a senior associate to join Drake & Scull International as general counsel.
