International law firm Ashurst has further strengthened its Middle East oil & gas team with the appointment of Luke Robottom and the relocation of Ashurst partner Stuart James as partners in its global projects practice, based in Abu Dhabi. Luke joins from White & Case in Abu Dhabi where he has been based since 2009.
Luke has extensive experience in advising on the development and financing of major infrastructure, power and oil & gas projects including numerous midstream and downstream deals. Luke also has a strong transactional construction practice. He advises sponsors, owners and lenders from pre-contract negotiation through contract administration and post contract dispute resolution.
Energy and resources partner Stuart James will be relocating to Abu Dhabi from the firm’s Perth office. Stuart specialises in major cross-border and domestic transactions in the oil & gas, LNG, energy and mining sectors, including M&A, project development, joint ventures and commodity sales and marketing arrangements, in addition to general commercial matters.
Commenting, Joss Dare, co-head of the firm’s global projects practice, said:
“Oil & gas is a key area of focus and strength for Ashurst both regionally and globally. These appointments reflect our continued commitment to invest in our Middle East practice and build on our existing market-leading and tier one ranked global oil & gas offering in order to meet significant client demand.
Luke and Stuart are excellent additions to the Abu Dhabi team, and together with Simon Fraser, we now have three dedicated oil & gas partners in Abu Dhabi covering both M&A and project development across the whole value chain from upstream through midstream to downstream and LNG. We intend to have the best in class oil & gas team in Abu Dhabi to service both local and regional markets and this is a key step in that ambition.”
Ashurst’s Middle East oil & gas offering has also been further expanded recently with the appointment of partners Bill Smith and Cameron Cuffe in the international arbitration team in Dubai, the promotion of projects/construction partner Yvonne Cross in Dubai and Matt Wood in the project finance practice in Abu Dhabi. Combined with existing projects partner David Charlier and disputes partner Dyfan Owen in Dubai, the firm has significant strength and depth across all aspects of the oil & gas industry in the region.
This year Ashurst will also move into new offices located in Abu Dhabi Global Market Square on Al Maryah Island, one of the pre-eminent business districts in Abu Dhabi.
Source: www.ashurst.com
