Trowers names new UAE chief for embattled Middle East practice
Trowers & Hamlins has named Bahrain partner Abdullah Mutawi as the new head of its United Arab Emirates practice in a strategic effort to reassert its presence in the Middle East.
Trowers & Hamlins has named Bahrain partner Abdullah Mutawi as the new head of its United Arab Emirates practice in a strategic effort to reassert its presence in the Middle East.
Mutawi will work with Nick White and Andrew Rae, resident managing partners of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices, to expand the firm’s corporate offering in the UAE while the Bahrain office remains under the stewardship of partner Dominic O’Neil.
The move follows a difficult year for Trowers in the Middle East, which has included a steady exodus of lawyers from its Dubai and Riyadh offices, the temporary closure of its Cairo and Bahrain offices due to political unrest and the permanent closure of its Jeddah base (23 May 2011).
Trowers’ head of international Martin Amison said: “We have always been proud of our longstanding presence in the Middle East and our Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices continue to perform well in trying economic times. Expanding our corporate finance capabilities in the UAE is a key part of our strategy going forward particularly as we have started to see significant deals coming to the market.
“Abdullah is the perfect man to lead this. He is a corporate heavyweight with a great reputation and has built a significant client base in the region.”
He added: “I am confident our clients will welcome his gravitas, his enormous experience and his ability to work seamlessly between Arabic and Western business environments.”
Mutawi has acted for both buyers and sellers on a number of the region’s M&A deals and has a particular specialisation in the telecom sector.
His clients include the Central Bank of Bahrain, Capital Management House, Unicorn Investment Bank, Vodafone, Orange, Bloomberg, Zain, the Bahrain Social Insurance Organisation, Cable & Wireless and Qatar Telecom.
Commenting on his new role, he said: “Investor confidence and deal flows are on the increase, making this an exciting time to add to our offering in the region.”
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Readers' comments (29)
Aloo ka paratha | 8-Sep-2011 2:01 pm
snore..
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Jonesy | 9-Sep-2011 7:21 am
To all who posted a comment here,
To be clear, this is not a HOTLINE for you to spit out a complaint or your personal issue. If you have some of these, why don't you knock on the door of T&H and say so to their faces. Frankly, this is getting more and more childish and it is sad to think some people are wasting their precious time.
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anonymouse | 9-Sep-2011 12:22 pm
Hey Jonesy
What gives you the right to tell anyone what to do? Do you own this website? Is anyone forcing you to read this?
Sounds like typical Trowers' arrogance to me.
For the record, can you tell me whether anyone in the management of Trowers bothered talking face to face to the victims of their sinking PEP before they lowered the boom. After committing to a value of communication at the international conference, did any of the international partners communicate their intentions to can a large number of international associates. Did they knock on our doors and speak face to face.
I look forward to hearing from you on this one.
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anonymouse supporter | 9-Sep-2011 4:19 pm
Anonymouse, I sincerely doubt you'll get anything remotely related to a measured response from "Jonsey".
Jonsey, you sound like a Trower's flunky who's been sent forth. It is ironic that you describe a number of measured posts as "childish" when your post is the very definition of that word.
Trowers was in my opinion, a middling firm that had a couple of good years when thing were booming. They got caught up believing in their own legend and now they're back to being a middling firm.
Their "mainstream" departments are not particularly well regarded, and they have rested on the laurels of a particular demographic of clients and a couple of departments for rather too long. It's all too clear now unfortunately.
I doubt the surge of opinion that takes place when Trowers hits the headlines would take quite the shape it does, had they treated the people they dismissed so casually in a remotedly acceptable manner. However, given the nature of the people within the firm who are responsible for the handling these dismissals, it's hardly suprising.
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Anonymous | 10-Sep-2011 9:48 am
Jonsey, you will find that speaking with Trowers management gets you no response. It is that treatment that causes people to vent on this HOTLINE. Perhaps then they will take note. It is amazing how a firm can get it so spectacularly and consistently wrong.
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Ex-Trowers | 11-Sep-2011 3:16 pm
What a shame! Once upon a time - in the not too distant past - T&H was actually a good firm to work for. It stood for good environment, work life balance and genuine care for its people...
Then along came the winds of change with new ideas and people..and all sounded good at the time...However, there was one flaw, Trowers endeavours to emulate competitors came at the expense of the firm's soul and humility.
I am afraid shuffling people around wont do it for you and your partners Jonsey...what you need to be doing now is to ask each other tough and honest questions about what does T&H stand for....
One of such honest questions is why does T&H get such negative press every timethe firm's name hits the news? can all these people be disgruntled ex-employees who lost objectivity..I doubt!
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Ex T | 11-Sep-2011 4:41 pm
@ Skeptic - I agree with you. I meant associates who are loyal to him and believe in his turnaround plan.
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The Septic Skeptic | 12-Sep-2011 12:47 pm
I remember it as if it was yesterday:
1st Appraisal: Doing a great job and prospects looking good;
2nd Appraisal: Excellent performance. Ready to take your career at Trowers to the next level.
One month later: Firm's financial performance poor. We're terribly sorry, but....
How exactly is one supposed to respond to such treatment? I suppose Jonesy would say take it on the chin and keep a stiff upper lip, old chap.
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mena | 12-Sep-2011 2:10 pm
Commenting on news articles (other than this comment of course) about Trowers in the ME in the Lawyer can be compared to is photographing the lingerie shop windows in the Dubai Mall. Its not right, but there's plenty of people that do it - and if you put yourselves in their shoes, you can see why they do it.
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The Septic Skeptic | 12-Sep-2011 3:40 pm
@Mena
What a peculiar comment.
So now the Trowers' apologists want us to believe that there is something morally reprehensible about making negative comments about the firm.
What absolute rubbish.
I suppose throwing people out on the street without regard for their performance is upstanding moral conduct by your standards. What a warped life-view you have and one that is indicative of Trowers' thinking about its employees.
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