Scottish law firm Brodies has opened its first international arm, with a new office in Abu Dhabi.
Having serviced clients in the Middle East from the UK for several years, the firm has now set up Brodies Middle East to further support people and businesses at a local level.
The operation will be led by Greg May and Bryan Wilson, who have spent 12 and four years respectively in Brodies' UK practice. With specialist energy and oil and gas expertise, they will continue to work with existing and new energy clients.
May has 25 years' experience in the oil and gas sector and has worked extensively in-house, drafting high value service sector contracts, including turnkey and project management drilling projects for the design, engineering and construction of wells and day rate drilling contracts, ranging from deepwater drill ships to shallow water jack-ups.
Wilson has extensive expertise in upstream oil and gas agreements and service sector work. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, working in the Middle East, Aberdeen and Scandinavia, both in-house and in private practice. He advises clients on projects in circumstances where diverse and sometimes conflicting strategies prevent economic projects from being developed.
Brodies managing partner Nick Scott, who will also oversee the Middle East firm, said: "We have been working with and for clients in the Middle East, including the UAE, Qatar and Oman, for many years now, so this was a very carefully considered, but natural, next step.
"Proximity to our clients is something we believe is important to allow us to provide the best quality legal services and to ensure our lawyers are immersed in the environments in which our clients live and work.
"Our client base in the Middle East has, so far, been predominantly oil and gas focused," Scott continued. "Many of the larger players in the energy transition are traditional oil and gas businesses, and cities in the Middle East - along with Aberdeen in the UK - are emerging as centres of excellence in that transition."
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