US firm Sullivan & Cromwell has opened an office in Abu Dhabi, its first in the Middle East.
The firm has rehired Ahmed el-Gaili as a partner from Latham & Watkins in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to lead the firm’s Middle East practice. El-Gaili started his legal career at Sullivan & Cromwell in London back in 2003, before moving to Vinson & Elkins in 2009 and relocating to the UAE. He then joined Latham as a partner in 2021, where he led its Saudi M&A practice.
Sullivan & Cromwell said the Abu Dhabi office will allow it to better serve clients in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and across the wider region. The office will initially focus on finance, regulation and transactional work, with specific emphasis on complex, cross-border and large-scale mandates.
In a joint statement, the firm’s co-chairs Robert Giuffra and Scott Miller said: “We are delighted to deepen S&C’s connection to one of the world’s most dynamic financial centres with a new office in Abu Dhabi,” adding the move underscores a long-term commitment to the region.
El-Gaili’s clients have included sovereign wealth funds, state-owned enterprises and governments during his career. He has also worked with large local, regional and international corporates and private equity firms, with a focus on transactions, joint ventures, project finance and restructuring work in the energy, infrastructure, life sciences, telecom and technology sectors.
He credited Sullivan & Cromwell’s global depth as the contributing factor behind his decision to rejoin the firm and lead the Middle East practice.
Giuffra and Miller added: “[El-Gaili] is an outstanding lawyer who is ideally placed to lead our work in the Middle East as we build on the longstanding relationships and track record we have developed advising our clients on their most critical matters across the region.”
As the firm grows the office, el-Gaili will be supported by Sullivan & Cromwell lawyers globally, including Paris-based partner Garth Bray and London-based Umberto Hassan, who is focused on UAE clients from the UK.
Sullivan & Cromwell is the latest firm to establish operations in Abu Dhabi, following Mishcon de Reya, which opened two offices in the country in November 2025; UK firm Forsters in December 2025, its first international office; Simmons & Simmons in January; and then Perez Llorca and Addleshaw Goddard in June.
Sullivan & Cromwell’s office opening comes despite ongoing disruption in the Middle East amid the war in Iran. The attraction, in part, is down to the importance of Gulf sovereign wealth. The Emirates Investment Authority (EIA) alone – the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund – is estimated to have somewhere in the region of $116bn in assets under management.
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