Skadden has opened its first Middle East office, in Abu Dhabi, hiring a senior corporate partner from Freshfields to spearhead the launch. 

Michael Hilton has joined the firm after nearly 24 years at Freshfields, where he was most recently regional managing partner for the Middle East and North Africa. Alongside leading the new office he will act as head of Skadden’s Middle East practice. 

Joining Hilton for the launch is corporate partner Andrea Spadacini and white collar defence and investigations counsel Bora Rawcliffe, both of whom have relocated from Skadden’s London office. Corporate counsel Cheree King has also moved over from Freshfields in Abu Dhabi. 

The new office will be located in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the city’s financial centre, and will advise clients on M&A, financing, litigation and arbitration matters, as well as white collar defence and investigations.

Skadden executive partner Jeremy London said the firm’s presence in ADGM was a natural outgrowth of its existing practice in the region, adding it would “enhance our ability to provide seamless service to local and international clients”.

For his part, Hilton has more than 20 years of experience handling cross-border private and public M&A and joint ventures, with an emphasis on financial sponsor work. He has focused his practice on the Middle East for more than a decade and advises clients from sectors including private equity, infrastructure, energy and natural resources, financial services, telecoms and technology.

Lorenzo Corte, global head of Skadden’s transactions practices, noted the firm’s record of working with corporations, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds and other governmental entities in the region. “Michael’s extensive experience and network across the Middle East will be key to growing those relationships,” he added. 

Hilton led MergerLinks’ EMEA corporate legal rankings last year, advising on four deals valued at £30.5bn. He led Freshfields’ MENA practice for just over two years until last September, according to his LinkedIn bio, when he was succeeded by litigation partner Sami Tannous. 

Skadden's new base brings the firm's global network to 21 offices, including five in Europe and five in Asia. The firm announced last October that it would close its Shanghai office and cut roles from its China corporate practice, citing shifting market dynamics, leaving it with Beijing as its sole location on the Chinese mainland. 

The firm's Abu Dhabi launch follows Gibson Dunn recruiting a team from legacy Shearman & Sterling to open there in 2023, citing the city’s rise as an energy and finance centre.