Weil Gotshal & Manges has become the third international firm in two weeks to confirm the closure of one of its offices in the Middle East. The US law firm is closing up shop in Dubai, its sole base in the region.
The firm told Legal Week that the office will be shuttered by the end of the second quarter, with clients in the region to be serviced through its London office. That leaves Budapest, Frankfurt, London, Munich, Paris, Prague and Warsaw as the remaining offices of the law firm in the Europe and the Middle East area.
The Dubai office, which was opened in 2009, has three resident lawyers – managing partner Joseph Tortorici and associates Diana Froyland and Natalie Kirk. The office specializes in private equity, mergers and acquisitions, business finance and restructuring, international arbitration and corporate governance.
Tortorici will continue to oversee the firm’s Middle East operations from Europe.
Weil isn’t alone in closing up a Middle East office. Last week,
Herbert Smith Freehills and
Clifford Chance said they are closing their offices in Qatar. HSF said it will close its office in Doha this summer while
Clifford Chance is shutting down its office in the city at the end of February. However,
Dentons had recently opened a new office in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
Weil has more than 350 lawyers outside of the United States. In Asia, it has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
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