DAC Beachcroft is set to open an office in Dubai with a trio of insurance partners hired from Clyde & Co.
The office – the UK-headquartered firm’s first in the Middle East – will open with Michael Morris, Michael Ducker and Mark Beswetherick, who will join from Clydes. It will be located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Managing partner, Helen Faulkner, said opening in the Middle East had long been a strategic priority for the firm.
“Dubai is a gateway to the region and a global centre not only for insurance, but also for healthcare and our other advisory practices,” she added.
Morris began his legal career at DAC Beachcroft in 2006 and joined Clydes 11 years ago, serving most recently as a litigation partner and head of insurance for the Middle East at the firm. He relocated from the UK to the UAE in 2015 and focuses his practice on commercial and professional liability claims, with particular experience in trade credit and political risk insurance, reinsurance disputes, professional liability claims and subrogated recoveries.
Meanwhile, Ducker brings experience in both the healthcare and insurance markets. Formerly co-head of Clydes’ Middle East and Africa healthcare group, his practice spans medical malpractice, property and casualty, business interruption, health, safety and environmental matters and public and product liability and recall claims.
Beswetherick, who will also return to DAC Beachcroft from earlier in his career, was previously head of Clydes’ insurance and dispute resolution group in Dubai. He focuses on arbitration, international litigation and corporate investigations, with a particular experience in D&O liability, professional negligence and complex, multi-jurisdictional insurance disputes.
Gustavo Blanco, head of international business at DAC Beachcroft, described the launch as a “pivotal moment” for the firm that furthered its aim to be the legal services provider of choice to the global insurance market.
The incoming partners were “an established team with an exceptional reputation in the Middle East market”, he added. “Their arrival will give us immediate scale and credibility in the region and create a powerful platform for further expansion.”
Several other international law firms have recently opened or expanded their offices in Dubai, particularly within the DIFC, to cater to the growing demand for legal services in the Middle East, including Harneys, Mishcon de Reya and Spencer West. London set 39 Essex Chambers also opened in Dubai earlier this month, with an office focused on construction and arbitration.
DAC Beachcroft’s upcoming launch there follows the opening of its third US office in Miami in February with an insurance coverage team hired from national US firm Robinson+Cole. At the same time, it added an insurance team from Troutman Pepper Locke to the Los Angeles office it opened last year in a US debut that also saw it set up shop in New York.
The firm also established an association with Australian insurance law firm Gilchrist Connell in 2025 and over the last few years has focused on building its presence in Latin America, opening an office in Lima, Peru and forging an alliance with a firm in Ecuador to advise clients with a focus on litigation, data protection, insurance and global marine and transport matters.
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