Clyde & Co has added two lawyers from Addleshaw Goddard to its ranks in Dubai, and lost another to Trowers & Hamlins.
Partner Ben Brown joins the firm’s global employment group from Addleshaw Goddard, together with senior associate David True. Brown re-joins the firm after four years.
He advises clients on contentious and non-contentious employment matters across the UAE and the wider GCC, with a particular focus on high-stakes employment litigation in the DIFC and ADGM courts.
He has acted in some of the most important employment cases in recent years, including one of the first discrimination cases to go to trial under DIFC Law No.2 of 2019, as amended, and the landmark DIFC Court of Appeal case of The Industrial Group Ltd v El Fadil.
“Our employment group strategy focuses on aligning with market opportunities and our clients’ priorities ensuring that we are best placed to support them, said Sara Khoja, partner, head of the firm’s Middle East and Africa (MEA) employment group and MEA chair, in a statement. “As the region continues to grow through increased investment and employment regulatory reforms, we are also seeing an uptick in employment disputes and investigations.”
Trowers & Hamlins, meanwhile, has added Nikita Patel as a partner in the firm’s international dispute resolution and litigation team, based in Dubai.
Patel joins from Clyde & Co where she has worked since 2014, most recently as a legal director.
Her practice encompasses advising and acting on complex commercial disputes across multiple jurisdictions including the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. Her sector specialisms include real estate, hospitality, and automotive.
Additionally, she has experience in complex, high-value local and international arbitrations, which include those administered by the DIAC, LCIA, and the ICC. She also advises clients in relation to proceedings in the UAE courts—including the DIFC courts, ADGM courts, and the onshore UAE courts.
Clyde & Co has seen a few partner departures across the UAE in recent months. In February, employment partner Rebecca Ford moved to Morgan Lewis & Bockius in Dubai, whilst corporate partner duo Stephen McKenna and Ross Barfoot departed for Dentons in Abu Dhabi.
