Al Tamimi & Company is the leading full service law firm in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with 17 offices across 9 countries. The firm has unrivalled experience having operated in the region for over 30 years. Our lawyers combine international experience and qualifications with expert regional knowledge and understanding. We specialise in advising and supporting major international corporations, banks and financial institutions, government organisations and local, regional and international companies. Our main areas of expertise include arbitration & litigation, banking & finance, construction & infrastructure, corporate & commercial, employment, intellectual property, projects, real estate and technology, media & telecommunications.
Clyde & Co has the largest presence and is one of most experienced international law firms in the Middle East with over 40 partners and 400 staff, based full time in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE, Doha in Qatar, Muscat in Oman and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. The firm supports international investors and local organisations throughout the wider region with a full-service offering of local specialists across most business sectors and areas of law, including commercial, corporate, dispute resolution, employment, intellectual property, international arbitration, finance & banking, insurance, projects & construction, real estate, regulatory & investigations, and technology.
With a team of over 100 lawyers in seven offices across five countries in the UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh; AlDhabaan; Partners in association with Eversheds Sutherland), Jordan (Amman), Qatar (Doha), and as the only global law practice with offices in the Kurdistan region of Iraq (Baghdad and Erbil), Eversheds Sutherland is at the heart of the region, acting as a strategic link for our clients between East and West. As a global top 10 law practice, Eversheds Sutherland provides legal advice and solutions to an international client base which includes some of the world’s largest multinationals. Our teams of lawyers around the world operate seamlessly to deliver the legal know-how and strategic alignment that clients need from their advisors to help further their business interests. Clients describe us as creative and well versed in cutting edge legal work – we listen well in order to understand how and where we can be most effective and add the greatest value. We shape our advice to the unique circumstances and challenges of each project, and ensure the right people are in the right places to offer insight and certainty – from the day-to-day to the most complex, multijurisdictional matters. What unites us is our commitment to service excellence through a solution-oriented approach. We know our clients’ businesses, the industries and markets they operate in, and we know that great relationships yield the best outcomes.
eversheds-sutherland.com
Farah Zafar is a British Lawyer with 20 years’ experience across the Middle East. She is an experienced Chief Legal Officer, well regarded for her “execution” capability, ability to structure and grow startups to billion-dollar entities, motivate and lead strong teams and provide clear and focused legal, strategic and investment support across all industry sectors. She is known for her technical ability, political savviness, strategic and visionary expertise which has empowered her to work for some of the most influential and visionary leaders in the region. Prior roles include Sole In-house Counsel Engineers Office, (private office of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid) Chief Legal Officer Omniyat, Chief Legal Officer Tanween, Head of Capital Transactions Dubai Holding, Chief Legal Officer AMAALA - The Public Investment Fund.
The GLS Group, founded in 2014, is a preeminent legal industry disruptor comprised of an internationally licensed law firm – GLS Law Firm, and its alterative legal solutions provider – GLS Solutions. The GLS Group has adopted an innovative approach to the provision of legal services, that incorporates cutting edge technology to offer its clients, on a global basis:
- world-class trusted advisory support at 20% of the cost of traditional law firms;
- solutions that avoid/reduce the need for external legal advisors in the first place; and
- the GLS Legal Operations Centre – an industry first, online platform that delivers disruptive access to the world’s largest selection of legal operations tools, solutions and resources so that busy in-house teams can achieve far more for far less (time and cost).
The GLS Group supports clients (big and small) across the EMEA and APAC regions, including MNCs, numerous Governments (and Government-related entities), and hundreds of start-ups and SMEs.
Phil is a globally experienced, and award-winning entrepreneur and VC investor. A seasoned executive and non-executive in demanding transformational roles in regulated industries and emerging markets, he is a true global nomad having worked extensively in multiple countries within multicultural organizations and environments. He is well recognized for having started the Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa group of companies in 2006, the first virtual mobile operator in the Middle East region, and held “C” level and NED posts there for over 9 years. Phil subsequently broke new ground by co-founding Pyypl Ltd in the UAE in 2016, a regional Fintech pioneering entity, using cloud-based blockchain technology, AI and machine learning to deliver multiple digital financial services from a single mobile phone App focusing on solutions for under-developed emerging consumer markets. Educated in Australia he holds a Master of Laws (Melb.) plus additional postgraduate academic and professional qualifications and is a recognized legal and regulatory expert, admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor in 3 jurisdictions. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD), the Institute of Directors (MIoD), the Law Society of New South Wales and various professional associations and societies and is a staunch advocate of corporate ethics and sustainability and good governance.
Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm with more than 3,700 lawyers and other legal staff based in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa. We have been present in the Middle East since 1979 and have offices in Dubai and Riyadh. Clients benefit from our unrivalled understanding of the legal and business environment in the region and from our long-established working relationships with Middle East-based businesses and governments. We advise both regional and international clients in all industries and sectors. We are instructed on many of the region’s largest, most complex and award-winning transactions. Our in-depth knowledge of the local legal, regulatory and business environments enables us to provide clients with operations in the Middle East with a distinctively high-quality and comprehensive service to their business advantage.
SEDCO Holding is a leading Saudi ethical and sustainable investor, managing a diverse portfolio of investments in sectors that drive prosperity for generations to come – including healthcare, education, asset management, hospitality, and real estate. Founded in 1976 by the Bin Mahfouz family, SEDCO Holding aims to achieve maximum value through focused investments in Shariah-compliant local and global markets while maintaining the highest corporate governance standards and incorporating sustainability into initiatives driving economic and social impact. With its diverse team made up of world-class experts in investment and asset management, SEDCO pioneered a distinctive Prudent Ethical Investment Approach (PEI) that combines the best of Shariah-compliance with ethical investing in creating exceptional performance while minimizing downside risks.
Simmons & Simmons is a leading international law firm, having fully integrated teams working across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. At Simmons, we view the law through a sector lens and focus on just four key sectors: Asset Management & Investment Funds, Financial Institutions, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and TMT. This narrow sector focus enables us to better support our clients’ needs in a manner which is deeply informed by the environment in which they operate. We have had a solid presence in the Middle East for over 25 years and our long standing regional experience means we really know how to get things done efficiently. Our dedicated TMT team in the Middle East is fully immersed in our international network. Our work includes significant ICT advisory and transactional mandates across a number of industries, all aspect of data and IP protection and exploitation and projects where there is convergence across regulated industries (e.g. FinTech and TechFin). We have a long track record of supporting clients on their most complex and challenging projects concerning technology and data, particularly around the development, procurement and deployment of emerging technology. Working alongside legal engineers and data scientists, we deliver smarter solutions to help our clients achieve their goals.
Zakher Marine International (ZMI) is well-known for the provision of services to the Offshore Oil and Gas Industries. It provides an extensive range of services from high specs vessel and jack-up barges charter to subsea services and focuses upon client satisfaction and retention. ZMI’s esteemed legal department, managed by Irina Kovalchuk, Group General Counsel plays a
pivotal role in the attainment of the above-mentioned services and policies. ZMI’s legal department harmonizes the commercial and legal sides of the Company business maintaining overall efficiency and smooth functionality. The department create a multitude of legal agreements from nearly every corner of the globe, resolve complex cross border disputes, as well
as secure multi million dollars financial transactions. Indeed, ZMI’s Legal department is the backbone of the Company.