Published: July 13, 2009
Baker & McKenzie announces that Tom Thraya and James Reed, both corporate partners, have relocated to the firm’s Abu Dhabi office from Chicago and London respectively.
Baker & McKenzie opened Abu Dhabi, its 69th office, in February 2009.
Tom Thraya, a native Arabic speaker, has been working extensively on Gulf corporate and joint venture matters (particularly Abu Dhabi and Dubai) over the past three years and was co-head of the North America Middle East Initiative. James Reed will further strengthen the existing corporate and energy, mining and infrastructure practices.
Once fully staffed, the Abu Dhabi office will specialise in banking and finance (including project finance and Islamic finance), corporate and M&A, private equity, securities/capital markets, major projects (particularly in the oil and gas and infrastructure sectors), arbitration and real estate to serve its international and domestic clients.
Baker & McKenzie has been active in the Saudi Arabia market since the mid-1970s and opened in Manama, Bahrain in 1999. The firm’s Middle East and North Africa presence also includes a long-standing office in Cairo, Egypt.