International law firm Clifford Chance will be setting up in Abu Dhabi immediately after receiving regulatory approval in the coming months. The office will represent the firm’s second Middle Eastern base, having established itself at the Dubai International Financial Center in 2005, after relocating from the World Trade Center.
Clifford Chance’s move is perhaps in line with its bid to take up more Islamic financing jobs — after all, the firm had advised Abraaj Capital on the US$1.4 billion acquisition of the Egyptian Fertilizer Company, one of the largest and most significant deals last year.
However, to dispel any further speculation, Islamic Finance news spoke exclusively with Graham Lovett, the firm’s Gulf managing partner, to learn more about reasons behind the set-up, and their Islamic finance aspirations in the Middle East.
When asked why Clifford Chance had chosen to set up in neighboring Abu Dhabi, Lovett candidly answered: “In many respects, it is the obvious choice to set up in the capital. There is a huge amount of interest from our clients in Abu Dhabi, and they are asking for us to be on the ground to advise them.”
In terms of partners, and the tricky question of relocation, Lovett said that Richard Ernest, currently at the Dubai office, will move to Abu Dhabi full-time. Ernest will initially be aided by other partners who will be located at the Abu Dhabi office intermittently. However, Lovett added that the firm expects to have a more permanent partner resource once the office grows.
On the question of Islamic finance, Lovett clarified: “Islamic financing will be a large part of the work, but we see this as a full service office, so we will be offering finance, corporate, capital markets, real estate and construction services as well.”
Contrary to what most would think, UAE jurisdictions are not biased towards Islamic financing per se. Lovett affirmed: “From a regulatory perspective, the (Islamic product) treatment is the same as for conventional products. It is the scale of liquidity and demand for these products that makes the UAE so attractive.”
In terms of future plans for more Middle Eastern jurisdictions, Lovett candidly answered: “I think it’s fair to say that we will always look at opportunities, but I want to spend some time making sure that our proposed office in Abu Dhabi really works — from a management perspective, we don’t want to spread ourselves too thinly!”
Clifford Chance will be boosting the Abu Dhabi legal environment, and joining fellow magic circlers Allen & Overy and Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer. Also coming to Abu Dhabi in the next few weeks are Ashurst, DLA Piper, Herbert Smith and Wall Street firm White & Case.