CMS strengthens its Abu Dhabi team

CMS strengthens its Abu Dhabi team

Expansion of Abu Dhabi office coincides with the opening of an office in the Israeli city Tel Aviv which is scheduled to be launched on 1 October

International law firm CMS has further strengthened its foothold in the UAE's lucrative legal market with the hiring of a four-strong team at its Abu Dhabi office from Baker Botts and Taylor Wessing.

The new additions to its Abu Dhabi team include corporate M&A specialist Patrik Daintry, senior associates Blair Jones, Kiren Maatharu and senior paralegal Maher Tayyar.

While Daintry has joined CMS as a partner from Baker Botts along with senior associate Jones, Matharu joins from Taylor Wessing. Senior paralegal Tayyar was associated with Royal Group, a large Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate.

Daintry carries a rich experience across corporate transactions with a focus on cross-border M&A, private equity and international joint ventures. He regularly handles corporate and commercial regulatory matters across the healthcare, health-tech, defence, financial services and industrial sectors predominantly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

He had spent half a decade at Baker Botts as special counsel, having joined from White & Case in 2017 where he was a senior associate.

"Patrik is a first-rate lawyer with deep sector experience which complements the firm's sector-driven approach, a key differentiator for us in the region," John O'Connor, head of corporate at CMS Dubai, said.

O'Connor asserted that the move of getting Daintry onboard reflects CMS's continued investment in its transactional practice, which it sees as a key priority across its global office network.

The expansion of the Abu Dhabi office coincides with the opening of an office in the Israeli city Tel Aviv which is scheduled to be launched on 1 October. CMS has been in the process of consolidating its practice in the Middle East. With the additional of the Tel Aviv office, the firm would have seven offices in the region. Abu Dhabi office had opened its doors in September 2020.