Global law firm opens office in Abu Dhabi

International full-service law firm Pillsbury has opened an office in Abu Dhabi’s Sowwah Square to better serve its clients’ interests in the Middle East and the rest of the world, the company announced on Wednesday.

The move expands Pillsbury’s global reach and capabilities in areas such as energy, infrastructure development, finance and international arbitration and dispute resolution. Pillsbury has selected a LEED-gold-certified office tower in Abu Dhabi’s Sowwah Square, a newly-developed island in the UAE capital’s financial centre, as its newest international address.

Pillsbury, which focuses on the energy & natural resources, financial services, real estate and construction, and technology sectors, already represents a number of Middle East entities and numerous global companies doing business in the region. Among Pillsbury’s clients is the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec), which Pillsbury is advising on a $20-billion (Dh73.5bn) project to build four nuclear power plants in the UAE, and Qatar Petroleum, affiliates of which the firm represents in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Pillsbury’s global reach includes a long standing Middle East practice assisting clients with business in the Gulf region and around the world, particularly in energy and infrastructure matters,” said Pillsbury Firm Chair Jim Rishwain.

“Pillsbury has a tremendous international reach with our attorneys having represented our clients on precedent setting projects in 75 countries. With Abu Dhabi becoming increasingly significant to Pillsbury and our clients, we are very pleased to have received permission from UAE authorities to establish this office significantly raising our profile and commitment to this strategic area of the world for energy, finance and trade interests.”

Pillsbury’s legal services in the Middle East and Gulf region have been steadily expanding. Recent matters include serving as counsel to Citibank on a guaranteed loan to a Jordanian telecom company, which was the largest US Export-Import Bank financing to date in Jordan; advising a Korean consortium on the development and construction of a large cement plant in Abu Dhabi; representing Air Algerie, EgyptAir and Turkish Airlines in separate financing arrangements for Boeing 737 aircraft orders; representing Bahrain-based BMI Bank in a complete overhaul of the bank's IT systems supporting international expansion plans - one of the larger global sourcing projects of this type in the region; and representing a joint venture in connection with investments in the northern Iraq oil sector, among others.

"Having our own team of attorneys in Abu Dhabi reflects our firm’s commitment to be where our clients are and need us to be,” Rishwain added. “Establishing an office where hundreds of our clients are doing business helps us further serve them in the region and tap new opportunities in energy, infrastructure, finance, trade, and elsewhere."

“We have long sought to establish an office in Abu Dhabi to further the growth our US and London offices have helped us achieve in the region,” said Pillsbury partner David Cynamon, who relocated from Washington, DC to the UAE to serve as managing partner of the firm’s new Abu Dhabi office. “Abu Dhabi has become a critical crossroads for many of the clients and industries we serve, and our office in Sowwah Square reflects how important it has become to Pillsbury as well.”