Banks Legal Celebrates 10 Years Of Operation In The UAE

Banks Legal, a leading legal and corporate services firm founded in the UAE is celebrating 10 years of operation. Established in 2009 by Managing Partner Nathan Banks, the firm has grown from having a largely corporate/commercial focus to now offering a full suite of legal and corporate services. It has expanded its geographical footprint with offices in Ras Al Khaimah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi where it recently set up a joint venture with Al Otaiba & Hamdan Budebes Advocates and Legal Consultants.  Banks Legal additionally operates on an international basis via a partner network that includes collaboration with New Zealand law firm Hudson Gavin Martin, predominantly to offer services supporting bilateral trade between New Zealand, the UAE and the wider MENA region.

For Banks Legal, achieving 10 years of successful operation is a significant testament to the strong demand for legal services with a cost-effective, value-driven focus provided by lawyers with international firm experience. The founding goal was to provide a genuine alternative to traditional providers of legal services in the UAE. Reaching this 10-year milestone in a maturing legal market, Banks Legal is seeing a period of expansion and a broadening of its portfolios, team expertise and sector specializations while staying true to its philosophy as a client-driven, approachable mid-tier law firm emphasizing regionally-based services with international standard lawyers while committed to reliability and building client relationships.

Banks Legal’s innovative model and pragmatic approach has made it particularly popular with SMEs, complimented by engagements with some of the world’s leading companies who maximize value and attain efficiency by maintaining a diverse panel of firms to source their international legal requirements. It has a highly esteemed team of multilingual, multinational lawyers who operate with the highest professional standards and are approachable, solution-focused and result oriented. With the expansion of its operations, Banks Legal is continually looking to grow its team with the addition of experienced, skilled and specialized lawyers and consultants that can further add wide ranging and multifarious legal expertise.

The firm has evolved to provide specific services in order to meet client demands and offers an array of products to complement this including LexFlex, which provides a monthly fixed-fee retainer service with a virtual in-house support system. It also offers a Cohesion Holdings portfolio of corporate sponsor vehicles, legal translation services and the in-house automation of documentation to deliver efficiency and cost-effectiveness for clients.

Banks Legal operates across all divisions of law with approximately 75% of its business arising from corporate and commercial assignments and 25% from dispute resolution matters. The latter is a significant growth area for the firm in recent years with an increased focus on this legal sector. Having developed a strong reputation as market entry specialists, Banks Legal has established numerous companies in the UAE and assisted with their expansion further into the region.

Looking to the future, the firm plans to grow its services provision further through the addition of accompanying sector-specific expertise and is already in the process of expanding its operations into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, directed principally by client demand in response to the opportunities outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 programme.

Speaking on the accomplishment of a 10-year milestone, Founder and Managing Partner Nathan Banks said, “We are very proud of what we have achieved over the past ten years. We have had a remarkable journey considering we started in a period of economic recession and have continued to grow consistently through periods of economic growth and challenging trading conditions thanks to the proven robustness of our business model and our strong business relationships.  We will continue to strive and evolve as a firm, through investment in quality resources, in-depth knowledge and experience of the UAE legal landscape and economy, and a clear vision to implement our expansion plan to enter new territories. Together with continued efforts to add value to our service offerings, we uphold our assurance to support our clients in their business needs and safeguard optimum client satisfaction.”

Andrew Morris, Partner, said “Banks Legal has enjoyed fantastic growth over its first ten years. Our expanding client base and range of services is a testament to the growing demand for alternative legal services in a maturing market. Many of our clients have been with us since the beginning and we have grown with them by expanding our presence across the Emirates and developing international networks to meet client requirements. We are excited by what the future holds for the firm, as we continue to explore new service offerings and markets and expand our sector expertise.”