Dentons has further expanded its corporate practice in Abu Dhabi with the hire of two partners from Clyde & Co.
Stephen McKenna and Ross Barfoot joined the firm in February after each spending more than a decade at Clyde & Co.
The duo specialise in corporate transactions and advisory work, including cross-border M&A, joint ventures, and regulatory matters.
McKenna’s expertise covers sectors including aviation, healthcare, industrials, and logistics, while Barfoot focuses on education, healthcare, hospitality, and oil & gas.
Dentons Middle East managing partner Jon Nash said: “Their expertise arrives at an opportune time as we anticipate further increase in the need for corporate execution capability on the ground in Abu Dhabi and the wider region in 2024.”
Paul Jarvis, CEO for Dentons UK, Ireland, and Middle East (UKIME), added: “The integration of Stephen and Ross into our Abu Dhabi office is a testament to our focused five-year strategy for UKIME, which includes the expansion of our corporate team’s expertise.”
In August last year the firm hired David Pang from Hunton Andrews Kurth, where he was a partner. Pang joined Dentons as a senior legal consultant specialising in corporate and commercial work. Elsewhere, in May 2023, Kenny Paton, counsel in the energy, transport, and infrastructure practice, relocated to Abu Dhabi from Scotland to head the firm’s oil & gas department for the Middle East.
In addition to Abu Dhabi, Dentons has eight offices in key economic centres across the Middle East, including Dubai, Riyadh, Doha and Muscat.
