The heat in the UAE may be off-putting, but lawyers are increasingly finding its business climate highly appealing. ALB discovers what practitioners can expect if they make the dash to the desert.
When Herbert Smith senior associate Jessie McDonald decided to move to Dubai two years ago, her intention was simply to join her husband who was stationed there and to stay in practice. But since arriving in the United Arab Emirates, the former university inhouse counsel has been excited by what her job Ц and the city Ц has had to offer.
The work here is of top quality, involving a lot of international work. The variety of work makes the job challenging as well as stimulating. I was also lucky enough to have colleagues from Australia who helped me to assimilate,Ф she says.
The reasons for the flood of lawyer relocations to the UAE in the last year are obvious. New opportunities, overseas exposure, tax-free salaries and the largely expatriate culture are commonly cited; however, at the core of the matter, the abundance of financial and career opportunities on offer is what really matters.
УThe Middle East is an exciting growth market where there is a huge amount of M&A activity. It is a lot more attractive than our [the New Zealand] marketЕФ says Andrew Lewis, a partner with Norton Rose.
Neil Brimson, managing partner of Herbert Smith in the Middle East, says lawyers are increasingly coming to the UAE because they want to work in one of the most exciting markets in the world, adding that the region has tremendous growth, second only to China.
Norton Rose partner Andrew Abernethy agrees. УIt is all coming out of this region; it is a place to rival New York and London. This is why a lot of lawyers from New York and London are flooding in. As an M&A lawyer, you want to be closer to the action and Dubai is where the M&A is happening,Ф he says.