Bird & Bird today announced that it has opened an office in Dubai and that it is transferring corporate partner Anders Nilsson from its Stockholm office to its UAE-based team.
The strengthening of the firm’s Middle East and North Africa operation, which is based in Abu Dhabi, comes after several years of exciting growth for the firm in the region. Bird & Bird first opened in Abu Dhabi in 2011 and, following last year’s recruitment of the former Chief Legal Officer of Al Jazeera Osama Abu-Dehays, it already has 13 people based in the UAE. The Dubai office will enable Bird & Bird to support the growing number of clients in the Emirate.
The firm is now established as a key player in the aviation, media and sports sectors, which are growing industries in the region, while work in other sectors such as aerospace, defence, security, communications, energy and utilities, healthcare and life sciences has also continued to grow rapidly. Recent client wins include Huawei, PepsiCo, healthcare software specialists TPP and the Supreme Committee for Qatar 2022.
Anders Nilsson already has a strong client-base in the region, having worked with Nordic investors in the Middle East and for Middle Eastern clients expanding their operations in Sweden over a number of years. He will continue to support these clients, as well as others looking to invest in Europe.
Mark Pinder, who heads the Abu Dhabi office, said: “We are very committed to continuing to grow our team in the region and Dubai is the base for many of the high tech innovators that are natural clients for the firm. Having an office there is essential to providing these clients with the support they need so we are very pleased to be making this move.”
“We are also delighted to be welcoming Anders to the team. He is extremely highly thought of for his work in Sweden and internationally, and he has been acting for Nordic clients in the Middle East over a number of years. This has enabled him to establish strong links here and provided him with a real understanding of the local culture, so we know he will be a great additional to the team.”
