Baker & McKenzie Expands Middle East & North Africa Practice with New Office in Qatar
Firm News
3 May 2011
Global, 3 May 2011 – Baker & McKenzie today announced the opening of an office in Doha, Qatar, expanding its three-decades-long presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with its fifth office. The Qatar office will become the Firm’s 69th location worldwide, specializing in banking & finance (including Islamic and project finance), energy & infrastructure, corporate and M&A, real estate & hospitality, construction and dispute resolution to serve both international and domestic clients.
Baker & McKenzie has been active in the MENA region since the mid-1970s, opening its Riyadh office in 1980, Cairo in 1985, Bahrain in 1998 and most recently in Abu Dhabi in 2009.
“The establishment of a Qatar office is an important and logical step for us,” said Eduardo Leite, Baker & McKenzie’s Chairman of the Executive Committee. “For more than three decades, we have built a substantial presence in the MENA region in order to fully support our clients and their business needs wherever they may be.”
Koen Vanhaerents, European Chairman and member of the Firm’s Executive Committee, said, “We have been actively servicing clients in Qatar for many years, and our new office will enable us to provide on-the-ground support in this increasingly important business and financial market.”
Baker & McKenzie’s MENA practice has received a number of accolades in recent years across the independent legal directories including:
– Middle East Law Firm of the Year – PLC Which Lawyer? 2008 & 2009;
– MENA M&A Legal Adviser of the Year (shortlisted) – Mergermarket European M&A Awards, 2010;
– Middle East Metals Deal of the Year – Project Finance International, 2011;
– Tier 1. Overseas Firms (Qatar) – Legal 500, 2010;
– Tier 1. Islamic Finance (Bahrain) – Legal 500, 2010;
– Tier 1. Project Finance (Saudi Arabia) – IFLR1000, 2010.
“The Gulf markets will continue to contribute to economic growth in various markets across the globe,” said Borys Dackiw, Managing Partner of the Gulf region. “Baker & McKenzie’s long-standing commitment to this dynamic region, coupled with our global footprint, positions us to help clients realize investment objectives domestically and internationally.”