A Spotlight on the Middle East with Gibson Dunn

Since the first US firms arrived in London in the 1970s, there hasn’t been a moment when the international legal market stood particularly still. Emerging markets appear quickly, and firms have to work harder and harder to stay ahead of the curve. You don’t have to be much of an expert to see that the Middle East is one such destination, and it’s easy to see why. The investments that overseas businesses are making in the region are “unprecedented” – as Nooree Moola, a disputes partner in Gibson Dunn’s Dubai office, puts it - “second to none around the world.” And, where there are deals being brokered, so too is there a need for legal professionals with the relevant expertise. As a result, the region has generated interest from Western law firms, US and magic circle alike. The argument for boots on the ground is clear to Jade Chu, M&A partner and training principal in the firm’s Abu Dhabi office too: “Why are we so focused on it? Because the Middle East represents opportunity, so to be a leading law firm, you need a presence here.”

“…the Middle East represents opportunity, so to be a leading law firm, you need a presence here.”

So, what kind of opportunity does the region present? Strictly from a human perspective, Moola tells us, “here, 80% of the world’s population can be accessed in an 8-hour flight, so we really are at the centre of the world!” Given the interconnectedness of the region, it should come as no surprise that “being able to do work that spans the Middle East, Asia and Africa, really without limitation” serves as a significant draw to lawyers at home and abroad too. “Even with our London and New York practices,” Moola adds, “so much of the work they’re doing originates here.” More on that later.

Gibson Dunn started off in California, but with 21 offices (and counting) globally, the firm sits snugly in the pantheon of the biggest law firms in the world. But while the Middle East is still in a period of emergence as one of the most important regions on the world stage, Gibson Dunn has represented clients there for more than 40 years. What’s more, the last year has included two new offices, 16 new partners and more than 20 associates too, securing the firm the inaugural Chambers & Partners 2024 ‘Middle East Breakthrough Law Firm of the Year’ award. It’s a move that wracks up Gibson’s presence to three offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, and over 50 lawyers on the ground. “It shows our focus on long commitments in understanding the market dynamics,” Dubai associate Omar Morsy emphasises, “and in understanding the cultural nuances.”

Why the Middle East?

While its situation of course plays a part, our interviewees point out that it’s the region’s resilience that sets it apart. While both the US and Europe face an ongoing recession, the Middle East is one of the few areas that hasn’t been as impacted. Something which is itself a result of a “push to diversify their economies after the oil price crash in 2015,” Chu explains, “it means soaring oil prices and the slowdown in capital markets that we’re seeing isn’t reflected in the Middle East.” Saudi Arabia in particular has seen a lot of growth in investment over the past five years, particularly around the government’s Vision 2030 program. Vision 2030 is itself made up of 13 programs including Financial Sector Development, Fiscal Sustainability, and Public Investment. Much of Vision 2030 is focused on increasing foreign investment, primarily by creating a friendly environment for foreign investors. One example is the government’s creation of free zones in Abu Dhabi, which (like many of the initiatives) is based on English law, accompanied by a regulatory framework that creates plenty of room for foreign investment.

“I’ve been in the region on and off now for about eight years,” Chu tells us, “and literally just walking around the UAE, I’ve seen so much development.” Chu highlights the Abu Dhabi Financial Centre among others, along with modernisation in parts of the region’s regulatory landscape. Arriving for the first time in 2015, for Chu “a lot of the work was local – a UAE client buying a regional business, or an international investor leveraging expertise to develop on the ground.” Now, however, “a lot of the work is strategic government work, or outbound investment to Europe or Asia. It’s similar to London in terms of the cross-border nature of the practice.”

The transactional tie-in

“A good portion of our work comes from oil rich countries, places where there’s a lot of money to be put into investments,” Morsy outlines, “sovereign wealth funds” like Saudia Arabia’s $940 billion Public Investment Fund. Consequently, “maintaining those key relationships with key clients” is a priority for Gibson, “in Abu Dhabi especially, where there is the Abu Dhabi Inc, sovereign wealth funds, and government entities that we have a relationship with.” Because of the abundance of natural resources in the region, the Middle East can sometimes be painted as “somewhere to invest, rather than somewhere for outbound investments,” but increasingly, clients in the region are making investments abroad, all as part of a wider strategy for diversification. As Chu reiterates: “We’re not just talking investments in the region, but assets in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Quite a lot of the work I do, even government entity related work, is made up of outbound investments, and a lot of cross border deals.”

“Quite a lot of the work I do, even government entity related work, is made up of outbound investments…”

That said, oil and gas work is still of course a key focus of investment in the Middle East, and as such, for lawyers at Gibson Dunn. As Morsy points out, the firm’s work for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is one such example: “The ADNOC Gas IPO was the biggest IPO globally in 2023 at the time,” he tells us, and the largest ever on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. “Just given the scale of the transaction,” it’s understandable that the practice is still integral to the firm’s strategy, but as both Morsy and Chu highlight, in the long term “economic diversification” is the name of the game: “The region is shifting more towards renewable energy and sustainability,” Chu explains, “so I would say the energy transition is a primary focus. M&A deals are increasingly targeting clean energy and technology in the form of joint ventures, both for regional players and international investors.”

Economic diversification extends beyond the energy space too. While plenty of sectors still have a role to play in the broader sustainability picture (such as increased investment in the food and agriculture space to enhance food security) others follow a different trajectory. Governments are pushing for modernisation, particularly around technology, which has fed into investments in e-commerce and fintech in particular. Part of Gibson Dunn’s practice in the region has included work on Neom – part of Vision 2030 – in Saudi Arabia, a new gigaproject development company central to major infrastructure projects in the country.

Disputes off-shoots

With the firm’s transactional offering so focused on investment, there’s plenty of disputes that arise from M&A and private equity deals for lawyers in the region. As disputes partner Moola explains: “When there are investments of the scale we are discussing, you’re always going to see shareholder disputes and joint venture disputes.” Similarly to the transactional side, disputes have historically revolved around oil, gas and construction – “logical given the dense natural resources in the region and the development in the region” Moola adds. “When I entered the region eleven years ago it was either ‘you’re going to be a construction lawyer’ or ‘you are going to be an oil and gas lawyer,” Moola tells us, “but now there is certainly the scope to be a generalist or focus on some of the other industries you might find interesting.”

Again, the shift from traditional oil and gas to clean energy – hydrogen, hydroelectric, renewables and solar – have added layers to traditional energy practices in the region, but there’s plenty more besides: “There’s a lot of disputes that, for example, come out of media, telecommunications, sports, hospitality and hotels,” Moola outlines, “so there really is a good breadth of disputes.” As Moola is quick to highlight, one of the biggest cases at Gibson Dunn in recent years was a telecommunications arbitration seated in the DIAC. The firm acted against Korek Telecom for Iraq Telecom, a joint venture between Agility and France’s Orange telecom, who had together invested $800 million into a telecommunications joint venture in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The case highlighted the importance of Gibson’s footprint in the Middle East, where “the majority shareholders were Iraqi and very powerful in Iraq.” Agility and Orange came in as foreign investors and as a result of shareholder issues, ended up losing their telecommunications license in Iraq. “We did manage to secure an arbitral award of $1.65 billion, the largest there has been to date in the DIFC – so that was a pretty good outcome!” Moola highlights.

“There are many factors that arise because of the power of the opponent. You might end up with a $2.4 billion award, but it can be challenging to enforce!”

Of course, for any Western law firms operating overseas, part of the challenge is learning to navigate cultural subtleties that distinguish these regions from one another. “At its heart a shareholder dispute is a shareholder dispute,” Moola tells us, but “here you do see specific cultural elements. For example, in this region there is a preference to negotiate and settle amicably where it’s possible, especially when you have a long-term shareholder agreement. It’s something I would say is unique to this region.” Along with this, “one of the most challenging elements tends to be when you’re up against a sovereign, or an entity backed by a sovereign.” Beyond the power dynamics at play, these cases can bring up other related issues, like sanctions: “There are many factors that arise because of the power of the opponent. You might end up with a $2.4 billion award, but it can be challenging to enforce!” Moola explains, “so there is a lot of strategy involved, a lot of planning, careful thinking… and also a good degree of geopolitics.”

At the junior end

All this said, it’s clear to see why the Middle East has become such a hot spot for aspiring solicitors, and Gibson Dunn offers newbies a great platform to start to build a career in the region: “95% of the people in this region are expats, so everyone is relatively new to the place and open to making friends and pursuing new connections,” Moola reassures potential newbies, “I thought I’d only be here for a couple of years, but here I am eleven years later!” Beyond the opportunity to be part of a rapidly developing community, from a technical perspective it gives those interested in becoming English law-qualified a great pathway for development: “In the disputes arena, particularly in arbitration, English law is very powerful,” Moola advocates, “and many of our disputes are English law based.” Associates at the firm are also US qualified and use common law. In short, it’s a jurisdiction where, much like Hong Kong, foreign trained lawyers can practice freely, ensuring that the Middle East is a melting pot for developing solicitors.

The firm’s offices in the Middle East follow the same training program as in London and Hong Kong, where trainees spend two years across four practices and qualify as solicitors in England and Wales. Trainee Shaikha AlKaabi, tells us that the program is structured to provide exposure to multiple areas: “So there’s projects, M&A, corporate and finance, and the offices in Dubai and the UAE also cover litigation and regulatory practices.” Gibson Dunn’s global presence is also an asset for seat selection. Training principal Jade Chu emphasises that, “we operate as one firm, not as satellites, so there are also opportunities for overseas secondments and there’s a broader range of seats than in London as well.”

“I work very closely with the trainees, partly because we have small teams here,” Chu tells us, “we offer a low leverage model where trainees receive feedback directly from senior lawyers.” AlKaabi points out that while trainees can also plug into the training programs in London, “the associates are very helpful and approachable – they always jump on a call and explain things in detail if need. Then, the partners here also have fantastic initiative and have been supportive in offering me mentorship!”

“…we want to see some sort of connection to the region, a genuine desire to want to be here, some sort of connection to help us understand why applicants have chosen the Middle East. We want people to be here for the right reasons.”

All in all, as one of the few Biglaw firms offering training contracts in the region, it’s a pretty unique opportunity for prospective applicants: “Before, a lot of the trainees were just secondees,” Chu explains, “but there’s even more of a desire to have people on the ground here now.” As a result, “we want to see some sort of connection to the region, a genuine desire to want to be here, some sort of connection to help us understand why applicants have chosen the Middle East. We want people to be here for the right reasons.”

An eye on the future

Along with the drive for economic diversification in the region, there is an increasing demand for M&A services, infrastructure mega-projects will require extensive financing, and cross-border investments arbitration will continue to play a critical role for the firm. The goal? “To make sure we’re in the best place to advise, with an increased focus on foreign investment, and be reactive to what’s in the market,” Chu outlines – “that’s our goal.” Each of these targets span across industries, making the firm’s practice in the Middle East a real treasure trove for those looking to establish careers with an international outlook. As Moola puts it, “one day you’re a container terminal expert, the next day you’re an oil and gas expert, and the day after that you’re deep diving into telecommunications – and the same goes with different sets of laws! Here, there’s a real opportunity to dig your hands into a subject, and then pivot to the next.”