London law firms Charles Russell and Denton Wilde Sapte are opening new offices in Bahrain and Qatar respectively.

Charles Russell, which launched its first international office in Geneva last year, has recruited the ex-head of Norton Rose’s Bahrain office, Carol Roberts, to head the new office, which opened for business last week.

Ms Roberts, who specialises in Middle East project finance, joined Charles Russell as senior counsel this summer to oversee the launch of the new branch, which will focus on corporate and private client work. Prior to joining the London firm, she ran her own legal consultancy in Saudi Arabia.

Dentons was given the go-ahead to open an office in Qatar after a partnership vote last week. In August, the firm advised HSBC Bank as lead manager on a $300 million sukuk al-mudarabah – the first rated sukuk to be issued by a Qatari corporate.

In June, the firm secured a Saudi base by setting up an alliance with Riyadh-based practice Wael Abdulrahman Alissa.