King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has decided to leave Saudi Arabia after a turbulent period for the firm's EMEA offices.
The international firm is closing its two partner office in Riyadh, where Majed Almarshad leads the team and acts as its local sponsor. Corporate lawyer Glenn Lovell, hired from Al Tamimi & Co in July 2015, is the branche's other partner.
Earlier this year, the EMEA arm of KWM, which operates under the Swiss verein model, filed for insolvency in the UK after a prolonged period of financial difficulty left it unable to service its debt.
Prior to filing, the firm hived off core EMEA offices - including its two Middle East branches - from the business so that they could be acquired and relaunched by KWM China.
KWM has one other Middle East office in Dubai, which it has it intends to retain.
Ben Naylor - Regional editor