Firm already has one Middle East office in Tel Aviv Five attorneys will work in the firm"s new UAE outpost The company and law firm names shown above are generated automatically based on the text of the article. We are improving this feature as we continue to test and develop in beta. We welcome feedback, which you can provide using the feedback tab on the right of the page. (Reuters) - Kobre & Kim has opened its doors in Dubai with five lawyers, the disputes and investigations-focused firm announced Wednesday. Mahmoud Selim from Cairo-based Matouk Bassiouny joined the firm as Middle East and Africa regional managing director, and Paul Hughes has joined from UK-founded Addleshaw Goddard as a partner. Richard Clarke from Dentons will join Kobre & Kim as principal and two associates have also joined the team. “Disputes and investigations in the [Dubai International Finance Centre], as well as in the broader [Middle East and Africa] region, are growing in terms of both complexity and scale,” said founding partner Steven Kobre in a statement. “As such, there is an increasing demand among sophisticated clients for deep expertise that few global firms can provide.” The firm opened its first Middle East office in Tel Aviv in 2015. The 130-attorney firm has more than a dozen offices around the globe and is looking to continue its expansion, heading into Africa next, according to Selim, though he said the exact office location there is yet to be determined. “Dubai is the perfect launchpad. It"s a place where I can hop on a plane and in four or five hours be anywhere in Africa,” said Selim. Representatives from Matouk Bassiouny and Addleshaw Goddard were not available for comment on Selim and Hughes" departures. A representative from Dentons said the firm wishes Clarke well. (NOTE: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Selim as a partner; Selim is a regional managing director. A comment from Dentons has also been added.)