SNR Denton and DLA Piper to bulk up Kuwait offices in face of partner exits
DLA Piper and SNR Denton, the only two international firms with offices in Kuwait, are looking to bulk up in the country following the loss of key partners.
For SNR Denton the departures follow an overhaul of the firm’s Middle East management and strategy.
SNR Denton Kuwait managing partner David Pfeiffer resigned on 17 October, but it is not yet known if he is joining another firm. The firm has interim arrangements in place while it looks for Pfeiffer’s permanent replacement.
Two other lawyers in the office have also resigned and will depart in the next month, leaving SNR Denton with three associates in the office, discounting the lawyers at its local associate firm - as required by domestic regulations - International Legal Group.
Pfeiffer helped legacy firm Denton Wilde Sapte launch its Kuwait office in 2008. He joined from Bryan Cave and brought the US firm’s entire Kuwait team with him.
Following Denton Wilde Sapte’s transatlantic merger with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in 2010 and the UK LLP’s disappointing 2010-11 financial performance (average profit per equity partner fell by 35.6 per cent, from £360,000 to £232,000; turnover declined by 8 per cent, from £167.5m to £154.4m; net profit fell 37 per cent, from £31.4m to £19.8m), the firm began a strategic review in a bid to boost profitability.
In the Middle East SNR Denton has transformed its management structure into a more regionally focused set-up. Senior management board member Leigh Hall, who advised Qatar on its successful bid to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup, is now Middle East managing partner.
The firm has also appointed partners to lead its sector focuses - banking, energy and infrastructure, construction and disputes, and company and commercial - across the region.
“We’ve been reviewing our Middle East practice generally and that’s resulted in a number of changes,” said chief executive Matthew Jones. “We’ve regionalised the practice to match our focus on regional clients. The way we’ve structured the firm, there’s a more effective way of dealing with clients and marshalling resources.”
Jones states that there are no plans to close individual Middle East offices as a result of the regionalisation and that he wants to see Kuwait in particular grow.
“Kuwait has always been a fairly small office,” he added. “We feel it’s a country that we’ve long had a presence in, but one where we have more to achieve.
“We’ve just won two significant mandates [a TMT deal and a restructuring mandate] and we see Kuwait as an important jurisdiction.”
DLA Piper has also lost a partner in Kuwait. Adrian Low, one of two partners based in firm’s office there, has left to join Clyde & Co, which does not have an office in Kuwait. Middle East head Abdul Aziz Al-Yaqout is still based in Kuwait and said the firm is looking to replace Low.
While DLA Piper and SNR Denton are still the only two international law firms in Kuwait, Dewey & LeBoeuf has announced that it plans to open a base in the country in
January 2012, with oil and gas partner Karl Hopkins overseeing the launch (TheLawyer.com, 8 August).
Readers' comments (7)
Insider | 24-Oct-2011 5:32 pm
Not sure about SNR Denton, but DLA is not affected by Low's departure. They will hire a decent partner to replace him and continue on shining.
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Anonymous | 24-Oct-2011 7:03 pm
Kuwait seems to be the graveyard of international law firms. None of the American or British firms that have opened in Kuwait have ever succeeded. Denton and DLA Piper never had a chance.
Good luck, Dewey!
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Anonymous | 24-Oct-2011 7:06 pm
Low was at DLA for over 10 years, first in Aquisition finance in London and then in Kuwait. They made him a partner, so either he was always a "decent" partner or we should doubt their abilities to judge good from bad from "decent"....
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Anonymous | 26-Oct-2011 11:28 am
I agree with anonymous at 24 oct 7:06:
Low was a good lawyer, but ran out of DLA after only one year in Kuwait because they had no work for him. I am sure that he will be much happier with his new firm in Dubai, which is a big step up from DLA.
The big question now is who can Aziz and DLA convince to throw away their career by heading up a 3-4 associate man law office with no work. Whomever he is, he is sure to leave after a short stint upon seeing the DLA operations.
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Anonymous | 26-Oct-2011 5:36 pm
To Anonymous | 26-Oct-2011 11:28 am:
Talk about DLA all you want. It's just your jealousy coming out - if you have something to say, say it to DLA don't go in trying to convince former associates how bad the "boss" is...it just makes you look like an even bigger loser.
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Anonymous | 2-Jan-2012 7:14 pm
One thing is quite clear, there is no work for DLA in Kuwait and not much to do across the Middle East region. A part from a few exceptions, the management of DLA middle east is clearly unable to build strong relationships with important clients and they never get involved in major projects. Kuwait is a good example. Alex Saleh left in 2009 and in less than two years built from scratch a new sucessful practice with Tamimi, in the meantime DLA, which had the same time and opportunities (if not more, thanks to its international network) has been struggling for all this time. DLA's offices in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain survive thanks to the work referred by the international network. But again, no strong client relationships, no big projects and poor quality. Finally, the Dubai office of DLA is over-staffed again.. DLA will never loose the old habit to recruit platoons of lawyers before they get actually busy. To raise business and big bucks you first need to know the market, be credible and have strong relationships with solid clients. Then business comes. 2012 will be another tough year for DLA in the Middle East..
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Anonymous | 14-Feb-2012 2:51 pm
Please anonymous @ 7.14 pm, did you actually know that DLA Kuwait landed the biggest privatization deal of the year? For some reason I think you're the same hater who writes anti DLA posts... .
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