Pérez-Llorca opens office in Abu Dhabi

Pérez-Llorca has begun operations in Abu Dhabi, opening an office within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate’s international financial centre. The move marks a significant step in the firm’s 2026 international growth strategy and positions it as the first Ibero-American law firm with a physical presence in Abu Dhabi.

The office is headed by Gonçalo Capela Godinho (pictured), a partner with nearly 25 years of international experience, including time in Latin America and New York. He played a key role in establishing and consolidating Pérez-Llorca’s Lisbon office. According to him,  Abu Dhabi has established itself as a major international financial hub and a meeting point for some of the world’s most significant institutional investors, and the firm’s presence in the region will allow it to strengthen relationships with existing clients and accompany investors driving major cross-border transactions.

,The office launch comes against a complex geopolitical backdrop in the region. Pérez-Llorca has nonetheless maintained a long-term outlook on the Middle East, stating that the economic fundamentals underpinning growth and international investment attraction in the Gulf remain intact. Over recent decades, sovereign wealth funds and large institutional investors from the Gulf have significantly increased their participation in international transactions, becoming key players in sectors including infrastructure, energy, technology, healthcare, real estate, and energy transition.

The Abu Dhabi office complements Pérez-Llorca’s planned integration with Miranda & Amado, a Peruvian firm, an agreement announced in May and expected to close within the coming weeks, pending approval by the governing bodies of both firms. The new office will work in coordination with Pérez-Llorca’s teams in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru, as well as its Lusophone Africa practice coordinated from Lisbon and professionals in London, New York, Brussels, and Singapore.