Morgan Lewis & Bockius are to open a new office in Dubai, which will include 3 partners from Vinson & Elkins.
Ayman Khaleq, Middle East managing partner at Vinson & Elkins (V&E), is to join Morgan Lewis & Bockius’ new office in Dubai along with fellow V&E partners James Knight and Lewis Jones. Khaleq is a finance and capital markets specialist, whilst Knight is a corporate partner and Jones is an energy partner.
Jones, a former Middle East managing partner at V&E, is currently based in London and will split his time between the City and Dubai on joining Morgan Lewis.
Knight joined the firm yesterday, while Khaleq and Jones are still working their notice periods.
Until the Dubai office opens, Khaleq will spend time in Morgan Lewis’s London office, while Knight will temporarily be housed in the Houston base.
A year ago Morgan Lewis set up outposts in Moscow and Almaty with hires from Dewey & LeBoeuf.
The launch follows a scaling back by V&E in the Middle East amid a tough time for international firms in the region.
Norton Rose Fulbright is also on the cusp of losing a large team in Dubai, with a group of legacy Fulbright & Jaworski partner currently in talks to join US firm Baker Botts.
Morgan Lewis chair Francis Milone said in a statement: “The scale of deal, project, development, and investment opportunities that our clients entertain in the Middle East is vast - and we’ve done well to meet those needs, utilising our global network of support. But we’ve been looking for the right, best-in-class talent to augment our services, and Ayman, Jim and Lewis are it.”
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