Redrawing The Risk Map: Legal Exposure in the Middle East
Rapid regulatory change, increased enforcement activity, and geopolitical complexity are reshaping legal risk across the Middle East. For firms and corporations operating in or throughout the region, traditional assumptions about exposure, compliance, and accountability no longer hold.
On February 4, 2026, Law.com hosted the webinar Redrawing the risk map: Legal exposure in the Middle East, during which a panel of legal experts provided insights needed to adapt and succeed in an era when legal leadership is being tested like never before. The conversation was led by Jack Womack, In-house and Regulatory Reporter at Law.com who was joined by Filippo Cossalter, Head of Legal Europe, Middle East and Africa at Ericsson; Tanya De Villiers, Global Legal Director at Aramex; Maude El Khoury, General Counsel at Sunset Hospitality; and Randa Salah, MEA Lead Counsel at IBM Consulting.
The central theme of the discussion was how in‑house legal teams in the Middle East are redefining and managing risk in a volatile geopolitical and technological environment. More specifically, everything kept circling back to four connected ideas:
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Geopolitical volatility as the new normal: Geopolitics is no longer a background factor; it is now a core part of legal and business decision‑making, especially in cross‑border operations and supply chains. The “winners” will be companies that can turn geopolitical tension into a competitive edge through flexible structures, localised supply chains, and strong trade‑compliance frameworks.
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The evolving role of in‑house lawyers and GCs: In‑house legal is expected to shift from reactive “risk blocker” to proactive, solution‑driven strategic partner. This includes scenario‑based planning, stress‑testing contracts (e.g. force majeure, termination, sanctions), and helping boards make decisions under uncertainty.
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AI as both risk and risk‑management tool: AI introduces data privacy, confidentiality, bias, and IP risks, especially with cross‑border data and localisation rules. At the same time, AI is becoming a powerful tool for contract review at scale, dispute prevention, and embedding playbooks, pushing legal from reactive to proactive - provided governance and explainability are in place. The panel noted that AI is being used in internal investigations, but only through secure, company-managed tools to protect confidential data. Key challenges include AI-generated errors and misinterpretation of internal language. To address this, they recommend implementing checkpoints to verify important findings. One speaker shared that they still review reports manually, considering this a learning phase, with plans to increase reliance on AI within 3-6 months as confidence in its accuracy grows.
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Communicating and operationalising risk for boards and businesses: Legal must translate legal risk into business impact (financial, operational, reputational) using the board’s language, not legalese. There is a strong focus on quantifying impact, likelihood, and velocity of risk, using concrete scenarios and coming up with options and solutions, not just problems. Building resilient legal functions - rather than merely compliant or reactive ones - via maturity assessments, playbooks, crisis rehearsals, and closer integration with business and board strategy.
The conversation resonated well with the audience who asked a set of questions to the panel, diving even deeper into the complexities and realities of working as a GC in the Middle East.
The audience asked about key skills for lawyers relocating to the Middle East. Panellists highlighted the importance of regional knowledge and geopolitics. Alongside technical expertise, lawyers need a solution-driven approach, agility in adapting to rapid change, proactivity in shaping roles within an evolving market, and the ability to work in dynamic environments, rather than relying on established legal systems.
“There is a cultural shift towards giving legal a seat at the decision‑making table. Does this create more risk for the legal team when being proactive and adding value? And if so, is board endorsement the way to mitigate that risk?”
Proactivity is essential, not optional: the core responsibility of a GC is to take a proactive approach to risk, not wait for incidents, and then explain the fallout. Being part of decisions early is exactly how legal reduces overall company risk. Board endorsement and alignment on risk appetite and legal’s role are important, but the panel framed proactivity as integral to the GC’s job, not as an optional, extra‑risky behaviour. The panel also contrasted in‑house vs private practice: external counsel often highlight risks in a narrow legal sense. In‑house must balance that with business reality, assessing whether and how to take, manage, or mitigate those risks.
With audience questions still flowing, it is clear that the evolving legal landscape continues to raise new challenges. The conversation on risk, business, leadership, and the future of work for in-house counsel will continue at the General Counsel Conference Middle East on May 20, 2026, in Dubai.
Thank you to our panellists for their insights and to everyone who joined. We look forward to continuing this dialogue as the future of legal leadership unfolds.