Brodies Middle East LLP, the first international arm of top
50 UK and leading Scottish law firm Brodies LLP, has opened an office in Abu
Dhabi.
Having serviced clients in the Middle East from the UK for
many years, the firm has opened a new Abu Dhabi base that will allow Brodies
Middle East LLP to further support these, and potential new, clients at a local
level.
The firm's Middle East operation will be led by Greg May
and Bryan Wilson who have
spent 12 and four years respectively in Brodies' UK practice. With
their specialist energy and oil and gas expertise, they will continue to work
with existing and new energy clients.
Greg May is a Legal 500 UK leading individual and is ranked
by Chambers UK. He has 25 years' experience in the oil and gas sector and has
worked extensively in-house.
Greg has experience in drafting complex and high value
service sector contracts, including turnkey and project management drilling
projects for the design, engineering and construction of wells and high value
day rate drilling contracts, ranging from deepwater drill ships to shallow
water jack-ups. He is qualified in both English and US law and is a member of
the Association of International Energy Negotiators.
Bryan Wilson has extensive expertise in upstream oil and
gas agreements and service sector work. He has more than 30 years’ experience
in the oil and gas industry, working in the Middle East, Aberdeen, and
Scandinavia both in-house and in private practice.
Bryan advises clients on high value and often complex
projects in circumstances where diverse and sometimes conflicting strategies
prevent economic projects from being developed. He negotiates and clarifies
legal and business drivers to enable both upstream and service sector clients
to make sensible and pragmatic strategic and tactical decisions.
Brodies managing partner, Nick Scott, who will also oversee
the Middle East firm, said: "We have been working with and for clients in
the Middle East, including the UAE, Qatar and Oman, for many years now, so this
was a very carefully considered, but natural, next step.
"Proximity to our clients is something we believe is
important to allow us to provide the best quality legal services and to ensure
our lawyers are immersed in the environments in which our clients live and
work.
"Our client base in the Middle East has, so far, been
predominantly oil and gas focused. Many of the larger players in the energy
transition are traditional oil and gas businesses, and cities in the Middle
East – along with Aberdeen in the UK - are emerging as centres of excellence in
that transition. We look forward to working with our clients and supporting
them at this significant time for the energy sector."