Your future starts here
Reed Smith was one of the first international law firms to be established in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), opening up in Abu Dhabi in 1978. We also have a strong and growing presence in Dubai, having opened our office in the Dubai International Financial Centre in 2006. We opened our Riyadh office, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in October 2025.
Together, our UAE offices have international lawyers, including Arabic speakers, offering extensive experience across a wide range of practice areas such as finance, corporate and commercial, and litigation. Our long history in the region translates to strong relationships with some of the most significant entities in the public and private sectors, as well as a lengthy period of active community service and pro bono work.
The UAE is the hub of the firm’s practice in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Elsewhere in the region, the firm has longstanding relationships with correspondent firms of excellence in all the principal geographical areas. We have acted for clients located in or with operations across the MENA region, Turkey, Africa, and South and Central Asia. Our knowledge of these markets and our strong history in the Middle East, coupled with the firm’s global footprint, enable us to fully serve clients from our Middle East platform.
At the epicentre of our growth in the region has been a focus on developing those skills and practice areas most needed by our clients. These clients include multinational companies across sectors such as construction, real estate, manufacturing, services, utilities, transportation, and defence, as well as banks, inward investors, and trading houses, and other local and international interests across the region.