Legal firm cuts jobs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Global legal firm Simmons & Simmons has made redundancies among lawyers and support staff in its Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices.

The decision to cut an unspecified number of staff comes amid “ongoing market conditions in the Middle East”, according to a company statement cited by The Lawyer website.

It said the firm’s Doha office and affiliated office in Jeddah would not be affected by the cuts. Simmons declined to say how many roles had been affected by the redundancies.

According to the firm’s website, Simmons has 29 lawyers across Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

A spokesperson for Simmons was quoted as saying: “Due to ongoing market conditions in the Middle East, we, in common with a number of other international law firms, have reviewed the needs of our clients and our business in the region.

“A small number of lawyers and business services staff have been affected in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We’ve offered affected people roles in other offices where feasible and, where not, we’ll support them in finding new roles.”

The redundancies come at the same time as a survey by legal recruitment firm Elizabeth Williams Search said about 60 percent of legal professionals in the GCC received a pay rise last year with highest average salaries seen in Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

The survey said many expat lawyers had no plans to leave the region, with a majority saying they feel optimistic about prospects for 2012.

It said salaries have held up well over the last year, with around 60 percent getting a pay rise last year and almost 80 percent expecting to get a 2011 bonus paid out this quarter.

The average salary for a head of legal was almost $21,000 a month (excluding bonus), the survey showed.