DLA Piper, a leading full service business law firm, has announced the appointment of veteran lawyer Sean Angle to lead its finance and projects practice group in the Middle East region.

Having spent over 20 years' working in the region, Sean brings with him a vast amount of experience and expertise and he will be joined by two senior associates - Tim Watkins and Diwakir Agarwal - all of whom are joining from the Dubai office of Reed Smith, said a company statement.

Over the last year DLA Piper has steadily been growing its senior talent pool and Sean's appointment comes on the back of Murad Abida's appointment to lead the region's corporate practice, it added.

"Sean's appointment is great news on both a regional and global level and we're delighted to have such a formidable lawyer join the firm," remarked Abdul Aziz Al-Yaqout, regional managing partner, DLA Piper Middle East.

"Like many firms, we've been focused on ensuring our house is in order after the financial crisis and the appointment of lawyers such as Sean and Murad play a key role in our long-term strategy."

"We're currently working on a number of very high profile projects and Sean will be a great support when delivering high-level strategic advice to our clients," he added.

On the new role, Angle said, "DLA Piper is a firm that has solid foundations, embedded in its strong regional footprint, and a clear desire to strive forward. Both of these characteristics attracted me to the firm and I'm very much looking forward to working with the team to build on its success."

Formerly, Sean founded Reed Smith's Dubai office and prior to that he lived and worked in Oman for almost 16 years where he headed the office of Trowers & Hamlins.

He has vast experience in IPOs, drafting of laws, regional structuring for multi-national businesses, corporate commercial deals, large industrial, real estate, power and water projects and ports.-TradeArabia News Service