Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has relocated partner Robert M. Griffin to Abu Dhabi to head the firm's Middle East investment funds practice. 

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has relocated partner Robert M. Griffin to Abu Dhabi to head the firm's Middle East investment funds practice. 

Griffin (pictured) was most recently based in the firm's London office. He has ten years of experience advising fund managers on the formation and operation of international private investment funds, including both hedge funds and private equity funds.

Natasha Kohne, partner-in-charge in Akin Gump's Abu Dhabi office, says: 'The opportunities for Akin Gump's global investment funds practice in Abu Dhabi and in the Middle East more widely are significant. Bob's expertise in structuring and servicing hedge funds and private equity funds will be invaluable to clients with both inbound and outbound opportunities in the Middle East. By adding a dedicated funds partner to this office, bringing to four the number of partners on the ground in Abu Dhabi, we underscore the firm's commitment to the region.'

Griffin adds: 'Abu Dhabi is becoming a center for fund managers seeking to expand their activities internationally and in the Middle East in particular. Working closely with colleagues around the world, we are adding to our substantial international capability to provide advice to clients across all types of funds.'

With more than 70 lawyers worldwide, Akin Gump's investment funds practice has advised alternative investment funds for more than 30 years, helping many of the world's largest and most prominent hedge and private equity funds raise, invest and realise billions of dollars. 

Akin Gump opened its office in Abu Dhabi in 2008. The office is home to a team of lawyers who advise in the fields of private equity, investment funds and hedge funds; international tax; entertainment and media; litigation and international dispute resolution; mergers and acquisitions; and energy.