Law firm cuts UAE jobs amid drop in business

Law firm DLA Piper has no plans to make further job cuts in the UAE after recently laying off staff, a senior partner revealed on Thursday.Speaking to Arabian Business, David Church from DLA’s Dubai office said he was hopeful of making no additional changes to an “excellent team that is doing well in a testing market”.

In recent weeks, eight associates from the firm’s Dubai practice were made redundant, while a “small number” of lawyers have taken voluntary sabbaticals.

“They are all good people and we have gone to great lengths and expense to recruit them, so the last thing we want to do is lay people off,” Church said. “We have done a relatively small amount of laying off; the percentages are not large.”

Church said the redundancies were carried out following a drop in demand across DLA’s corporate, finance and project services practices.

“The credit crunch has affected everyone and I would be very surprised if the vast majority of law firms are not in the same position as us in that there has been a drop off of work because major financings are not happening because the banks aren’t lending,” Church said.

He added the firm’s technology, litigation and property practices were unaffected by the downturn.

“Ironically, the real estate practice is quite busy because people need to reassess their investments and activities, and that requires expert advice,” Church said.

No job cuts have been carried out at DLA’s offices in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar or Oman, according to Church. But he added business was not as “rip-roaring” as this time last year.

DLA Piper employs some 165 lawyers across the Gulf, with around 115-120 based in the UAE.