U.S. law firm Morgan Lewis is set to open in Dubai, its first outpost in the Middle East, after hiring three lawyers from Vinson & Elkins.

Morgan Lewis has hired structured finance and debt capital markets lawyer Ayman Khaleq and corporate and transactional lawyer Jim Knight, along with London-based energy transactions partner Lewis Jones from Vinson & Elkins. Khaleq and Knight will be resident in Dubai, while Jones will be based in London and spend significant time in Dubai.

The Dubai team will provide guidance on energy and infrastructure transactions, debt capital markets, structured finance, private equity funds, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and Islamic finance.

“The scale of deal, project, development, and investment opportunities that our clients entertain in the Middle East is vast- and we’ve done well to meet those needs, utilising our global network of support,” said Morgan Lewis Chair Francis Milone in a statement. “But we’ve been looking for the right, best-in-class talent to augment our services, and Ayman, Jim and Lewis are it.”

The Dubai office takes the total number of Morgan Lewis offices worldwide to 25. Recently, the firm opened offices in Moscow and Almaty, Kazakhstan.

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