The firm, which has the largest presence of any of the international firms in the Gulf, already has offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Since the firm set up in the region in 1989 it has grown to have over 75 lawyers and paralegals including 13 partners in its Middle East offices. The Doha office will initially have four or five staff with plans to recruit more in the future. It joins three other international law firms already based in the Doha.

David Salt, a former partner at Clyde & Co, London, who more recently worked as a consultant for law firm Simmons & Simmons in Qatar, will head up the office as partner.

Salt said he was looking forward to returning to the firm now it had an office in Qatar. “It’s absolutely fantastic to be back. It is great to be amongst old friends again,” he said.

Salt is a corporate and commercial practitioner who advises on corporate and banking matters for the Government of Qatar as well as companies in the Middle East.

Jonathan Silver, who leads the firm’s operations in the region, said in a written statement that it was “a natural extension of Clyde & Co’s Middle East operations and a major step towards the development of the firm in the region”.

Lasry medal winner

MELBOURNE BARRISTER Lex Lasry QC has won the inaugural Law Council Presidents Medal for his outstanding contribution to the legal profession.

Announced at the Australian Legal Convention in Sydney last weekend, the Law Council of Australia (LCA) praised Lasry’s pro bono representation of convicted Australian drug trafficker Van Nguyen in 2005, along with his role as independent legal observer for the LCA at the Military Commission hearings for David Hicks in 2004 and 2005.

“[Lasry] is an outstanding criminal barrister who, throughout his career, has demonstrated a dedication to issues beyond his practice,” LCA president Tim Bugg said.