Project finance and Islamic finance partner Sacranie joins DLA Piper Middle East

Shehzaad, who was formerly at Allen & Overy, has extensive project finance and Islamic finance experience in the Middle East, and was previously based in Riyadh and Dubai.

He has advised a number of high profile global financial institutions with interests across the Middle East region and brings significant knowledge and understanding of the local business market to the team, having worked in the Middle East for over 6 years.

In addition to Shehzaad joining, DLA Piper continues to develop the Abu Dhabi office, with the relocation of technology and sourcing partner, Hinal Patel, who relocated to the office from Dubai last month.

Hinal's move underscores DLA Piper's commitment to broadening the range of services offered to clients in Abu Dhabi as he takes up the role of leading the technology practice in the office.

Kerry Scott-Patel, a senior employment and immigration specialist, relocated to the Abu Dhabi office from Dubai in January. Kerry's relocation reflects client demand for specialist employment advice in the Emirate and she now leads the Employment, Pensions and Benefits Group in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile Neil Crossley, an experienced employment partner from the UK, joined the Dubai office in November to head the Employment, Pensions and Benefits Practice Group in the Middle East. Also relocating from the UK was finance partner Adrian Low from London who joined in January.

In Doha, corporate and commercial partner, Mark Williams, relocated in November 2008 from China to head the corporate team in Qatar. Mark was previously Managing Partner of the firm's Beijing office and spent more than 10 years in the DLA Piper office in Chicago.

Dubai projects lawyer, Mark Northey, was made up to partner on 1 January and has now also relocated to the Doha office.

"In spite of the global economic downturn the demand in this region for specialist legal advice including in areas of law including technology, telecoms and employment continues. Our business model, here and around the world, is to provide a full range of legal services to support the ongoing needs of our clients. To do this we need specialist lawyers on the ground in all the locations that matter to our clients."

said David Church, DLA Piper's Regional Managing Partner for the Middle East.