Clifford Chance further strengthens leading corporate practice in UAE

Notes and media contacts

Notes:
1. The UAE corporate practice comprises four partners and a team of 24 lawyers. The team applies significant regional and international experience to a broad range of corporate, commercial and regulatory activities including M&A and disposals (both public and private), joint ventures, equity capital markets, corporate restructurings, private equity, funds and regulatory matters. Recent transactions include advising Mediaset SpA on its acquisition of a 25% interest in Nessma SA, Istithmar World Capital on their joint acquisition of a 20% stake in Cirque de Soleil, advising on the Sipchem rights issue and DP World's landmark listing on DIFX.

2. Clifford Chance has had a presence in the United Arab Emirates for 34 years and is one of the longest established international law firms in the country. The Abu Dhabi office was opened in August 2008.

3. The corporate practice, which comprises 820 legal advisers worldwide, handles some of the world's largest and most complex M&A transactions. The practice combines global transaction capability with a full service of English, US and civil law expertise in the key financial centres across the Middle East, Americas, Asia and Europe. In addition to mainstream M&A, the firm also encompasses leading specialist practices in: commercial contracts, competition and antitrust, communications, energy, healthcare, financial institutions, funds, investment banking, insurance, media and technology, and private equity.

The practice focuses on providing practical and commercial legal advice. Clients include investment banks and financial institutions, multinationals and other public and private corporations, private equity providers and management teams, asset management clients, international partnerships and governments.

4. Clifford Chance is one of the world's leading law firms, helping clients achieve their goals by combining the highest global standards with local expertise. The Firm has unrivalled scale and depth of legal resources across the key markets of the Middle East, Americas, Asia and Europe and focuses on the core areas of commercial activity: capital markets; corporate and M&A; finance and banking; real estate; tax; pensions and employment; litigation and dispute resolution. Clifford Chance has 30 offices in 21 countries and 3,800 legal advisers.

5. Clifford Chance achieved the highest number of top tier rankings of any firm in the Chambers Global 2008 Directory, cited in 20 international tables. This independent analysis focuses on firms' legal ability, professional conduct, client service, and commercial awareness, and these rankings provide outstanding recognition for the Firm's breadth of expertise and consistency of quality across global markets.

For further information, please contact:
Melanie Carruthers
Tel: +971 (0)4 362 0623
or Graham Lovett
Tel: +971 (0)4 362 0625