Pinsent Masons, the multinational law firm, has appointed Matthew Escritt, banking and finance partner, to lead the firm’s Banking and Finance practice in the Middle East, based out of Dubai.
According to a statement by the law firm, Escritt will join from Norton Rose Fulbright, where he has been for the past 19 years, with the past eight spent as partner in the banking and finance team. During this time, he has worked in London, Moscow, Bahrain, Singapore and Dubai.
Matthew is a banking and finance specialist, advising on all areas of structured cross border finance, including syndicated lending acquisition, development finance, asset finance, vendor finance, and structured trade and commodity finance. He is familiar with both conventional and Islamic finance funding structures. He also advises on financial restructuring and insolvency mandates. Based in Dubai, he will be leading the Banking & Finance practice in the Middle East (within the Finance & Projects group) and will focus primarily on clients in the Financial Services sector.
Commenting on Matthew’s appointment, Michael Watson, head of the Finance & Projects group at Pinsent Masons said:
“Matthew’s reputation precedes him and we look forward to welcoming him as head of our banking and finance practice in Dubai. His experience and expertise will greatly strengthen the practice, enabling them to deepen relationships with existing clients as well as developing new ones. His appointment is another fantastic addition to our growing international capabilities.”
Catherine Workman, head of Pinsent Masons in the Middle East said:
“We are excited to announce Matthew’s appointment as we continue to strengthen our expertise across the Middle East. The firm’s approach of focusing on sector specialism aligned to skillset excellence has proven a compelling proposition for our clients across the Middle East and Internationally. The addition of Matthew to the office and the team will significantly increase that compelling proposition, enabling us to enhance the support to our clients across the Region.”
Matthew Escritt, head of Banking and Finance in the Middle East added:
“I am excited to have been given the opportunity to lead Pinsent Masons’ Banking & Finance practice in the region and to be part of an international team tasked with growing a strategically important practice area to complement the firm’s existing strengths. It will also ensure that we are able to provide vital, full-service support to our clients as they navigate today’s challenging business environment. Given the diverse talents of the individuals involved and the well-known strengths of the existing practice I am confident that we are well placed to achieve our goals.”
Adding to the growing multinational Finance & Projects group, Matthew’s appointment follows that of Anthony Morton in Frankfurt, James Harris in Asia, Jim Hunwick in Sydney and Eran Chivka in Paris.