Following Saudi Arabia's changes to the regulation of legal
practices, international law firms prepare themselves ..
Of the US firms, Kirkland & Ellis has opened its first
office in the region in Riyadh, focused on energy and
infrastructure, with 2 partners hired from White & Case and a
third from Latham & Watkins.
Gibson Dunn adds to its Abu Dhabi office with its own Riyadh
presence, after recruiting another 3 senior lawyers from White
& Case.
Not to be outdone, UK firms build their own position. Addleshaw
Goddard recruits a trio of partners, including one from Latham
& Watkins, to set up in Riyadh.
And in a move of symbolic importance, the largest law firm in
Saudi Arabia, Al Tamimi & Co, relocates all 83 of its lawyers
in Riyadh to the Tadawul Tower in the King Abdullah Financial
District, where the Saudi Stock Exchange will in due course be
based.
