PwC Legal enters Qatar market with new office in Doha
PwC Legal has expanded its footprint in the Middle East with the opening of an office in Doha, the firm’s third in the region.
The new office marks PwC Legal’s entry in the Qatar market, in a move that sees PwC become the first of the Big Four’s legal arms to have a permanent presence in the country.
“We are delighted to enter the Qatar legal market,” said PwC Legal Middle East Leader, Darren Harris. “We have ambitious plans to grow our legal business in this important market and we are investing to bring the best of the market’s legal talent to join our legal business.”
PwC Legal consists of a team of over 5,000 lawyers and legal professionals in 100+ countries. The wing helps clients with traditional legal matters on mergers & acquisitions, real estate transactions, employment law, immigration and more, and provides legal expertise to PwC’s projects in strategy, deals, organisation, finance, tax and technology.
In the Middle East, PwC Legal has over 60 lawyers and legal professionals currently on its payroll working from offices in the UAE and Saudi Arabia (through a strategic alliance with Dr. Qaisar H Metawea Law Firm), a number which PwC’s new strategy (known as ‘The New Equation’) aims to double in the next three years.
“The Qatar office opening complements PwC Legal’s regional offering,” said Harris, and “enables us to offer our clients in the country a unique integrated offering, from standalone legal services to complementing the firm’s services across tax, deals, assurance and consulting.”
Bassam Hajhamad, Country Senior Partner of PwC Qatar, and Sajid Khan, Tax Market Leader at PwC Qatar, both welcomed the move, noting the expansion into the Gulf state as a “testimony of PwC’s commitment toward Qatar” and “a valuable addition to the offerings in the local market that will drive better outcomes for our clients.”
By 2025, PwC aims to rank among the 20 largest law firms in the world. According to data sourced from Law.com, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Walkins and Baker McKenzie currently rank as the world’s largest law firms.