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Categories:Middle East

Simmons cites market turbulence as it trims Abu Dhabi and Dubai

20 January 2012 | By James Swift

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Simmons & Simmons has made lawyers and support staff in its Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices redundant in response to what it terms “ongoing market conditions in the Middle East”.

The firm’s Doha office and affiliated office in Jeddah will not be affected by the cuts, which were first reported by RollonFriday. Simmons would not comment on how many roles had been affected by the redundancies.

According to the firm’s website, Simmons has 13 fee-earners across Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Simmons said: “Due to ongoing market conditions in the Middle East, we, in common with a number of other international law firms, have reviewed the needs of our clients and our business in the region.

“A small number of lawyers and business services staff have been affected in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We’ve offered affected people roles in other offices where feasible and, where not, we’ll support them in finding new roles.

“Our Doha office and affiliated office in Saudi Arabia are unaffected by the review.”

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Readers' comments (22)

  • The Septic Skeptic | 22-Feb-2012 12:25 pm

    Thank you and I fully understand your position.
    Norton Rose - no-one on the ground in Saudi Arabia since maybe mid-2010
    Dentons - major loss of associates in 2011, current status unknown
    Clydes - one Western expat on the ground
    Trowers - office closed if the Trowers website is to be believed.
    Eversheds - not aware of any Western expats but may be mistaken
    Fulbrights - two Western expats on the ground
    Vinsons - didn't know that they were even here
    Dewey - a player in the second tier
    Freshfields - a shadow office - all major work run out of Dubai
    Baker Botts - maybe in the second tier
    Jones Day - are they still here?
    King & Spalding - a Dubai operation.
    So in conclusion, none of these firms could possibly support the assertion that the second tier is taking work off the "big boys" due to the lack of quality of work undertaken by the top tier.
    There is the odd success story but one swallow does not a Spring make - no?
    Feel free to disagree.

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  • Anonymous | 10-Apr-2012 8:55 am

    How about Al Tamimi?
    What local firms are good?

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