Herbert Smith LLP
Herbert Smith “is constructing an excellent practice” in the United Arab Emirates. The firm first opened an office in Dubai in early 2007, to provide corporate finance, dispute resolution and projects support to its clients.
The office has six partners and 23 associates, and lawyers from the firm have advised Merrill Lynch and Unicorn Investment Bank as lead managers of a major sukuk issuance, as well as Millennium Finance Corporation on the creation of its US$1 billion TMT Fund sponsored by Dubai Islamic Bank.
The firm’s local profile was further strengthened by the opening of an office in Abu Dhabi in May 2008. Herbert Smith’s track record there includes advising Hydrogen Energy, the joint venture between BP and Rio Tinto, on plans to build a clean-power plant, and the firm also represents Etisalat, the UAE national telecommunications operator.
Neil Brimson, the firm’s Middle East head, will relocate to Abu Dhabi and he earns Herbert Smith two of its seven appearances in this publication. He was picked out for both his capital markets and project finance expertise. Zubair Mir also appears in two chapters. Dividing his time between M&A and private funds work, Mir has recently advised Investcorp and EFG Hermes on major funds, as well as counselling Etisalat in corporate cases, and he ranks highly in both chapters. Also appearing in the private funds chapter is the “excellent” Stephen Rayfield who counts PricewaterhouseCoopers and Agility Logistics among his recent clients.
Nadim Khan came top in our research for Islamic finance. Described variously as “a major player” and “an outstanding specialist”, Khan has a portfolio of clients including Dubai Islamic Bank and Al Waha Petrochemical Plant. Craig Shepherd appears in the arbitration chapter, where he is hailed as “one of the best”; past clients including the government of Hong Kong and Tractebel Asia.