International law firm Reed Smith has announced the appointment of corporate partner Donald Moore and associate Nijoe (Joe) Joseph to its United Arab Emirates practice. Both will join the firm in December from Holland & Knight, where Donald has been the managing partner of the firm's Abu Dhabi office since 2008. Donald will join the Reed Smith office in Abu Dhabi and Joe will join the Dubai office.
Donald has a diverse corporate practice, including advising United Arab Emirates and international companies, family groups, airlines, banks, investors, transportation companies and other clients on a wide range of corporate, corporate governance, contractual, investment, finance, joint-venture, M&A and cross-border transactions.
Much of Donald's work for clients has focused on the sectors of urban transportation, aviation and vessel financings, logistics and distribution, banking, construction, infrastructure, natural resources, private security companies and military-related transactions. Donald's practice regularly includes a significant amount of work for the prominent Al Masaood family of Abu Dhabi and Doppelmayr of Austria.
Joe previously was the senior legal advisor to the Abu Dhabi Department of Transportation's Maritime Division. He has a strong background in maritime, vessel and aircraft financing, corporate transactions and general UAE law and government matters. He is also licensed in India where he has corporate and commercial experience.
Vince Gordon, Reed Smith partner and head of business and finance Middle East, commented:
"Donald's arrival is one of many steps we are taking to further strengthen our presence in the Middle East. It's an exciting time for us, as we work to grow our transactional practice in the region and enhance our integrated offering across the firm."
James Wilkinson, Reed Smith partner and head of the Europe and Middle East Corporate Group, commented:
"Our UAE offices are the firm's hub for work across the Middle East and Central Asia and there is a steady stream of corporate and commercial work driven from and to the region from our other offices around the world. Donald has practised in the UAE for several years and has a strong client base in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the US, which we expect will offer a number of opportunities for cross servicing in the future."
Donald Moore added:
"I'm very excited about joining Reed Smith, especially at this time of its increasing growth in the Middle East. The firm is clearly committed to the United Arab Emirates and the region as well as to its global platform, which will bring significant benefits to my local and international clients."
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