Press Release
| January 22, 2008
Dewey & LeBoeuf Opens Dubai Office
(New York, NY - January 22, 2008) - Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP announces that it has opened a full service office in Dubai, with a primary focus on corporate finance, including capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and Islamic finance, project development and finance, energy transactional work and investment funds. The office will initially have three resident partners, Federico Salinas, Chris P. Sioufi and Gavin Watson.
Dewey & LeBoeuf's opening of a Dubai office reinforces the firm's longstanding and ongoing commitment to the Middle East. The firm (through its legacy firms of LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae and Dewey Ballantine) has been active in the region for almost 30 years and has had a full service, affiliated office in Riyadh since 1998.
Steven H. Davis, Dewey & LeBoeuf chairman commented, "I am delighted to announce the opening of our Dubai office. We have been involved in cutting edge work for our clients in the Middle East for several decades and believe that now is the right time to be present in Dubai. Federico, Chris and Gavin are outstanding lawyers and bring an immense combined knowledge of the region and doing business there."
Gavin Watson and Chris Sioufi join Dewey & LeBoeuf from Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer Feld's Dubai office. Gavin advises on cross border commercial transactions and the development and financing of international infrastructure projects with a focus on the energy and petrochemical sectors. Prior to joining Akin Gump he was with international law firms King & Spalding and Freshfields. Gavin has practiced in London and Singapore, in addition to Dubai, and is an English qualified solicitor. Chris advises on a broad range of corporate, financial and capital markets transactions. He particularly focuses on the areas of private equity, mergers and acquisitions, investment funds, structured finance and Islamic Finance. Before becoming a partner at Akin Gump, Chris was the general counsel and chief compliance officer of an Islamic investment bank based in Bahrain and a partner of Ogilvy Renault.
Gavin Watson said, "This is an exciting time to join Dewey & LeBoeuf and to open the first new office since its recent merger. Dewey & LeBoeuf's global footprint, significant resources and acknowledged reputation in corporate finance and energy work in the Middle East are impressive."
Chris Sioufi commented, "I am delighted to be part of Dewey & LeBoeuf's expansion in the Middle East. The combination of the Dubai and Riyadh offices will enable the firm to service some of the most prominent institutions in the region."
Dewey & LeBoeuf has a market leading Middle East capital markets and corporate finance practice led by Camille Abousleiman. Federico Salinas is a partner in this practice. The team has pioneered the development of international and regional capital markets in the Middle East. They have been active in equity and debt offerings for issuers from (among other jurisdictions) the DIFC, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Kuwait, Tunisia, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, and have acted as lead counsel in many transactions, which were firsts of their kind in the Middle East.
Camille Abousleiman said, "Our Dubai office will enhance our ability to provide first class services to our investment banking, sovereign and corporate clients."
For more information, please contact your Dewey & LeBoeuf relationship partner, or one of the following:
This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues. It is not considered to be legal advice. We would be pleased to provide additional details or advice about specific situations. For additional information on this important topic, please feel free to call upon your Dewey & LeBoeuf relationship partner. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form, without our prior written consent.
For further information on Dewey & LeBoeuf, please visit www.dl.com. +1 888 532 6383