Bubble or long-term boom? Abu Dhabi's legal market in focus

Abu Dhabi’s legal landscape has seen a dramatic transformation in the last few years with a surge in interest from international and regional law firms, many of whom have previously seen Saudi Arabia as their largest source of revenue in the region. The rapid expansion of the Abu Dhabi legal market is no accident – it’s the result of purposeful economic planning, a shift toward knowledge-based industries and the establishment of robust legal infrastructure.

Changes in law firm licensing have seen the rise of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as a serious rival to the DIFC in Dubai, with ADGM on a major charm offensive to attract new business to set up regional HQs in their Free Zone. The influx of new businesses setting up in Abu Dhabi has led to a reported 67% jump in new licences in Q1 2025, pushing the total number of legal and financial entities registered in ADGM to nearly 2,800, up from 2,381 at the end of 2024.

As international and niche businesses set up or scale up their operations, and as government and corporate projects proliferate, demand for high‑calibre legal support – from M&A and funds to arbitration and regulatory compliance – will only intensify.

Major global law firms are capitalising on this surge of interest in doing business in ADGM and we have seen a number of new entrants to Abu Dhabi (and the region) as well as some firms looking to return to having an office there. Noteworthy moves include:

• Skadden, Arps launched its first Middle East office in Abu Dhabi in January 2025, led by ex‑Freshfields regional Managing Partner Michael Hilton.
• Paul Hastings launched in May with a team from White & Case headed up by Din Eshanov. They added to the practice again last month, bringing on a fourth infrastructure specialist in Abu Dhabi.
• Addleshaw Goddard opened in ADGM last month, their first new office opening in two years.
• Pinsent Masons opened in ADGM in 2024 to allow them better access to government work.
• Gibson Dunn opened an office in 2023 with the hire of a team from Shearman & Sterling, headed up by Renad Younes.

With several other firms understood to be opening imminently, this influx is part of a wider trend of building out teams in Abu Dhabi in order to take advantage of a booming market, with established offices also seeing significant hiring activity:

• In January this year Cleary Gottlieb hired the former head of Clifford Chance’s corporate practice, Mike Taylor, to build out their team, which will soon number four corporate partners in Abu Dhabi.
• Clyde & Co recently announced a team hire from Brodies to replace the losses inflicted on them last year, when a two-partner team moved to Dentons.
• CMS relocated Graham Conlon from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in 2024 to build out their team there.
• Baker McKenzie relocated James Burdett from London to establish their funds practice in the region.

Is this a bubble or a sign of long-term growth and opportunity? There is a degree of nervousness from some quarters that we have seen this type of expansion of the law firm market in Abu Dhabi before, when many firms established offices between 2007-2010 under the promise of work from the government which failed to materialise following the Gulf Financial Crisis. However, this time the market is in a very different place, as Abu Dhabi’s broader economy continues its shift away from oil.

In 2024, non‑oil GDP jumped 6.2%, reaching AED 644 billion, over 54.7% of total GDP. 2024 Abu Dhabi Business Week spotlighted AED 66 billion in planned non‑oil projects for 144 initiatives with GDP momentum led by non‑oil sectors – deepening legal demand across infrastructure, tourism, education and resource management.

ADGM’s assets under management (AUM) surged by as much as 245% in 2024, driven by new fund and asset managers such as BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, PGIM, Nuveen, and Marshall Wace setting up and scaling up their businesses.

Sovereign wealth funds, long a mainstay of legal activity in the region, are now a significant source of outbound mandates as well as regional instructions for law firms. Funds such as Mubadala, ADIA and ADQ now command over $1.7 trillion of AUM, with Mubadala highlighted as the most active sovereign wealth fund in 2024, eclipsing Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has been (and continues to be) a major source of work for many firms in the Middle East.

As well as sovereign wealth funds, other key players in Abu Dhabi such as G42 have been diversifying their activities and creating new offshoots, including M42 and Core 42, which are providing a great volume of work for law firms. New entrant Paul Hastings, for example, have had a close relationship with the Abu Dhabi government for decades through their veteran partner Marty Edelman, who is now the GC for G42, helping to further support their recent launch in the region.

All of this has created a new growth cycle and is strengthening a major market in the GCC. In turn this is generating significant opportunities for lawyers working in Abu Dhabi and, with the pool of lawyers currently in the area still relatively small, this presents a great opportunity for career-minded individuals to focus on developing a practice in this market before it becomes saturated.

If you are interested in hearing more about this trend or would like a discreet view on the opportunities Abu Dhabi holds, please contact me or my team to set up a discussion.