ABBL

Allen & Overy announces the launch of an office in Casablanca with the addition of leading Moroccan lawyers Hicham Naciri and Yassir Ghorbal, becoming the first major global law firm to establish a presence on the African continent.

The Casablanca office will be a key platform for Allen & Overy's strategy in Africa, enabling it to build on its existing Africa business. The launch also underlines its commitment to continued growth in emerging markets.

The office will open in September following the arrival of François Duquette, from A&O's Abu Dhabi office, and Yassir Ghorbal currently a partner at Gide Loyrette Nouel – Naciri & Associés.

The Casablanca office will be joined later in the year by Hicham Naciri, who will lead the operation, with up to 25 lawyers anticipated to join by 2012. Hicham is also currently a partner at Gide Loyrette Nouel – Naciri & Associés.

Marc Feider (Allen & Overy Luxembourg Senior Partner) said: "Morocco is rapidly establishing itself as a key hub for international companies and investors looking to build a presence in Africa. It also has strong trade links with other markets in our network, with growing interest from China, India and Japan. It's the perfect match for our global network and our emerging markets' strategy and offers a fantastic platform to build on our extensive Africa-focused work."

Henri Wagner (Allen & Overy Luxembourg Managing Partner) adds : " Morocco is one of the leading destinations for foreign direct investment in Africa and was one of the few to see an increase in 2010. The news comes in the same week that Allen & Overy launches its new Washington operations. The addition of Casablanca will take our network to 39 offices in 27 countries around the world – currently the largest global footprint among the leading global law firms.

In Allen & Overy's recent annual results about half of our revenue growth for the 2011 financial year came from our newly established emerging market-related offices around the world. Launching in Morocco provides an opportunity to further build on that success."

(Source: Allen & Overy Luxembourg)