Mr Janssen will head the team and joins the firm from EY's Dubai office, where he has led the MENA Private Client Services team and co-headed the Dubai international tax group since 2013. He is experienced on cross-border tax matters, including advising corporates, investment funds and Sovereign Wealth Funds on outbound investments, pre-IPO group restructurings and cross border M&A.

The right time

Margaret Robertson, Withers' Managing Partner, comments: ‘Having monitored Dubai's steady ascent up the ladder of international financial centres in recent years, we have been waiting for the right moment to enter the market and fill out our international network with a presence in the Middle East.’

Global expansion

The launch of the Dubai practice follows on from Withers' recent growth in Asia and the USA, with the firm having opened offices in Sydney, California, and Tokyo since the end of 2014 and expanded its Singapore office through an alliance with KhattarWong in April last year.