Dechert LLP announced that Phillip Sacks has rejoined the firm as Managing Partner of its Dubai office, further strengthening its market-leading financial services and investment management practice.
With almost two decades of experience, including 14 years spent in the Middle East, Mr. Sacks has extensive expertise advising financial institutions, fund managers and sovereign wealth funds. He advises on the structuring and establishment of conventional and Shari’ah-compliant investment funds including private equity and venture capital funds, real estate funds, infrastructure funds, hedge funds and credit and CLO funds. Mr. Sacks also regularly advises sovereign wealth funds and financial institutions on their fund investment and co-investment programmes. In addition, he advises on the formation of regulated asset management entities in the DIFC and ADGM and the establishment of carried interest plans and other incentive schemes.
“As we look to expand and strengthen our capabilities, Phillip’s wealth of experience in the region will significantly enhance our client offering. We are extremely pleased to welcome Phillip back to Dechert”, said Mark Thierfelder, co-chair of Dechert.
Mr. Sacks added, “Dechert’s reputation in financial services and investment management is unrivalled and I am thrilled to be joining the firm to help grow its presence in Dubai and at a time when the region is expanding to be one of the most dynamic and exciting markets globally.”
Mr. Sacks originally joined Dechert as a partner in 2016 and practised in the firm’s Dubai office for over seven years. He subsequently served as partner in the Dubai office of another international law firm and now rejoins Dechert. Mr. Sacks has been ranked Band 1 in Investment Funds: Middle East-Wide by Chambers Global for 10 consecutive years and is recognized in The Legal 500 United Arab Emirates “Hall of Fame” for Investment Fund Formation Management.
Dechert has one of the largest financial services and investment management teams of any law firm with more than 200 lawyers. It was the first law firm with a funds practice in all key European fund domiciles, including the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, Germany, and France, as well as the U.S., the Middle East, and Asia. The firm is consistently recognized by independent experts as a leading law firm for investment funds. For over a decade, Dechert has advised Middle East clients from the Dubai International Financial Centre, assisting regional and international clients on their transactions and projects throughout the MENA region.
Already in 2026, Dechert has welcomed more than 25 lateral partners, each strengthening capabilities in the firm’s steeples of excellence in investment management, finance and restructuring, capital markets and securitization, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property and across litigation practices. The 2026 laterals have significantly expanded the firm’s litigation platform, including the addition of a new accounting defense practice and further strengthening its labor and employment and cyber, privacy and AI teams.
Dechert has also announced that it is opening offices in Chicago, Dallas and Houston.
Dechert is the law firm that helps business leaders lead. For more than 150 years, the Firm has advised clients on critical issues – from high-stakes litigation to first-in-market transaction structures and complex regulatory matters. Its lawyers in commercial centers worldwide are immersed in the key sectors they serve – financial services, private capital, real estate, life sciences and technology.
