DLA Piper, the global law firm, has opened its second office in Saudi Arabia and has announced plans for a third office opening before the end of the year, taking the total number of Middle East offices to eight.
The firm opened its Riyadh office in 2006 and although it has been operating from a Jeddah base for a number of years, the opening of an official office signifies the investment and commitment the firm has in the Kingdom. The Jeddah office will be run by Legal Director Rakesh Bassi, who joined DLA Piper last year, from Clifford Chance, to further support the expansion of the Saudi offering.
In addition, DLA Piper is in the process of finalising arrangements relating to a third office in the Eastern Provence to service both locally based clients and to support those based in Bahrain with strong ties to the Eastern area of Saudi Arabia.
"Saudi Arabia has always been a key country for both the regional and international firm and our expanded presence in the Kingdom is testament to our continued focus and investment," commented Peter Somekh, DLA Piper's Regional Managing Partner in the Middle East. "We already have over 20 lawyers permanently based in Saudi, 18 of whom are Saudi nationals and all are internationally qualified, and we're looking to further expand the team over the coming year."
Dr Eyad Reda, Country Managing Partner in Saudi Arabia, also commented: "Our focus for the last five years has been to build a client base around the sectors that are key to the Kingdom and where the wider firm has strong expertise, namely Banking and Finance, Energy, Technology, Hospitality and Leisure and Real Estate. This strategy has proved fruitful and we're excited about the next stage of the Saudi journey and welcoming new lawyers, male and female, to our team."
DLA Piper operates in Saudi Arabia in association with Dr Eyad Reda law firm and has a strong presence across the Middle East region, with offices in all six GCC countries.
For further information:
Susie Beales - Head of Marketing and Business Development, Middle East
T: +971 4 438 6274
E: susie.beales@dlapiper.com
DLA Piper is a global law firm with 4,200 lawyers located in more than 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, positioning it to help companies with their legal needs anywhere in the world.
For further information about our organisation and services, please visit our website: www.dlapiper.com/middleeast
© Press Release 2015
