Pérez-Llorca has opened an office in Abu Dhabi, in a move it says makes it the first Ibero-American law firm with a physical presence in the city.
The office will be located in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, one of the main international financial centres in the region, and is intended to support Gulf investors in overseas investment projects.
Pérez-Llorca said the launch was in response to developments in global capital flows, noting that Gulf-based institutional and private investors have been taking an increasingly significant role in financing and acquiring assets in the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America and Portuguese-speaking African countries.
The office will be led by partner Gonçalo Capela Godinho, the firm’s former country chair in Lisbon and a specialist in cross-border transactions. Capela Godinho oversaw the Lisbon office more than tripling in size to 60 people following its launch in late 2023 and in Abu Dhabi is expected to drive the development of institutional and commercial relationships in the region. Two associates will make the move with him to Abu Dhabi.
The new office is not intended to develop a local legal practice in the Middle East, and instead is meant to strengthen Pérez-Llorca’s proximity to international capital sources investing in markets where it has capacity to deliver local law advice, the firm said.
The office is expected work closely with the firm's teams in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, where it is shortly set to merge with 33-partner firm Miranda & Amado, as well as with its Lusophone Africa practice coordinated from Lisbon.
Commenting on the launch, Capela Godinho said: “Abu Dhabi has established itself as one of the leading international financial hubs and an increasingly important nexus for institutional capital. Our presence in the Middle East will enable us to strengthen our relationships with our existing clients and work more closely with the investors who are driving some of the most significant transactions and capital allocation decisions globally.”
The launch continues Pérez-Llorca’s international expansion drive that began in 2015 with office openings in London and New York and since 2022 has seen the firm launch in Brussels, Singapore, Mexico and Colombia as well as Lisbon and Peru.
The firm's international executive partner, Iván Delgado, said the Abu Dhabi launch and upcoming Peru merger were "complementary milestones" within the same international project.
"We want to have a presence both in markets that generate capital and in those that offer investment and growth opportunities," he said. "Abu Dhabi and Lima strengthen our ability to connect international investors with strategic projects in Europe and Latin America, solidifying a unique platform within the Ibero-American region”.
The firm recorded pro forma revenue growth of 28% in 2025, ending the financial year with turnover of €211.3m, fuelled partly by its landmark merger with 120-lawyer Colombian firm Gómez-Pinzón going live last July.
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