27^th September 04 – Embargoed until October 4^th 2004

Clyde & Co opens its doors in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE

International law firm, Clyde & Co, has opened its doors in Abu Dhabi with the opening of its third office in the UAE.  Clyde & Co already has its Middle East Regional Office in Dubai and an office in Dubai Media City.

Clyde & Co has an increasing amount of existing client work in Abu Dhabi which is currently serviced from the Dubai offices.  This demand, coupled with the firm’s strong desire and commitment to develop client business in Abu Dhabi, meant that it made sense to open a fully serviced office in the heart of the Capital.  The office will provide easily accessible, top quality legal services, for which Clyde & Co is reputed in the region, to the Abu Dhabi business community and beyond.

Niall O’Toole, former managing partner of Denton Wilde Sapte’s Abu Dhabi office, joined Clyde & Co in May as a corporate partner.  He will lead the development of the office and build the Clyde & Co team.  Niall has worked in Abu Dhabi since 1997 and is consistently rated as one of the leading corporate/M&A lawyers in the UAE.  He has considerable experience of doing business in Abu Dhabi and provides a broad range of corporate and commercial advice to local and international companies operating in the Middle East.  He has particular expertise in corporate/M&A, energy, aviation, defence and international transactions. 

Niall is joined by commercial litigator Wayne Jones, who transfers to Abu Dhabi from Clyde & Co’s office in Dubai.  Wayne, has over 10 years experience in a number of jurisdictions, including England and the UAE where he has been based since 2001.  Wayne specialises in general commercial litigation with a particular focus on insurance and reinsurance, advising on both contentious and non-contentious matters.

Commenting on joining Clyde & Co, Niall says:

“Clyde & Co’s reputation in the region is very strong and it was clearly the only firm for me to move to.  The new Abu Dhabi office allows me to continue to operate in an Emirate I know extremely well, whilst rising to the challenge of developing new clients and contacts.  Opening an office here also gives Clyde & Co the opportunity to expand their extensive oil and energy client-base in a high-growth region and offer our strong capabilities in a key trading centre.”

Michael Payton, Senior Partner of Clyde & Co says:

“We couldn’t have picked a better person to develop the office.  With his excellent contacts and local knowledge, our clients will truly benefit from his wide experience of the region and the issues facing clients operating in, and with, companies based in Abu Dhabi.

Niall’s appointment and Wayne’s move to Abu Dhabi, confirms our strength of reputation and presence in the Middle East and reflects the firm’s continuing success in being able to employ the best lawyers.

Opening a new Abu Dhabi office is in line with the firm’s overall business strategy to develop our presence in the region for our clients.”

-Ends-

1.       Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven Emirates of the UAE and has approximately 10% of the world's proven oil reserves and 5% of the gas. The Emirate also has an impressive investment portfolio financed from oil income and thriving business communities in a diverse range of sectors including financial services, aviation, telecommunications, transportation and international trade.  Abu Dhabi city is the capital of the UAE and the seat of the Federal Government and ministries. 

2.       Clyde & Co is a leading international law firm with particular strengths in cross-border trade and investment, international arbitration, trade disputes, shipping and marine matters, insurance and reinsurance, transport, energy, corporate and commercial law, finance and technology.  The firm has offices in London, Paris, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Caracas, Guildford, Nantes, Piraeus, Cardiff, and associate offices in Belgrade and St Petersburg. It also has a Co-operation Agreement with a law office in Iraq.

3.       Clyde & Co - Middle East and Indian Subcontinent

Clyde & Co first established an office in the UAE in 1989 following a merger with the firm of Jonathan Silver which was established in Dubai in 1981.  The office has 30 casehandlers, including 8 partners, who have specialist expertise in the areas of corporate, company, commercial, finance, banking, inward investment and establishment, energy, construction, shipping, marine, aviation, insurance, reinsurance, international trade, litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property (including registration and protection of trade marks), information technology, telecoms and e-commerce. 

4.     For further information please contact Justine Rennie, Head of Communications, at Clyde & Co on Tel: (44) 020 7623 1244; email: justine.rennie@clyde.co.uk or Vicki Morley, Marketing Manager at Clyde & Co’s Middle East Regional Office on Tel: (00 971 4) 331 1102  vicki.morley@clydeco.ae