ADG Legal

Transactional Practice

Partner - Head of Transactional Practice

John is a product of big Western law firms – having come to Dubai in 2005 to open the office of a major US law firm (Akin Gump) – and he has been partner in US and British law firms in the Middle East over the years.  John advises on a wide range of transactional matters, with a particular focus on the energy and infrastructure sectors in the Middle East, Africa, Russia and the CIS. He has traditionally advised on many diverse upstream oil and gas issues in frontier markets, including negotiating the first production sharing agreement in the Republic of Malawi and resolving high-stakes Development and Production Service Contract issues at Iraq's Ministry of Oil headquarters in Baghdad. He also advises on all aspects of the development of major infrastructure projects from conventional/renewable power-generation, to midstream/ downstream oil and gas -- to transportation/logistics infrastructure. He is increasingly advising clients on the intersection of the Energy Transition/Decarbonization, technology (blockchain, AI, IoT, etc.) and venture capital.

English, Arabic, Russian and Turkish

Member of the New York Bar and the District of Columbia Bar

Member, Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN)

 Member, Dubai Energies Club

Member, American Chamber of Commerce of Dubai (f/k/a American Business Council of Dubai & the Northern Emirates); having previously held roles of President 2012-2013, General Counsel and Board Member

Princeton University, A.B., Magna cum Laude

Damascus University, Faculty of Law, Fulbright Scholar

Saint Petersburg State University, Faculty of Law

Duke University School of Law, J.D.

John Eric Podgore heads our Transactional Practice Team based in Dubai. He has more than twenty years of experience in both private practice and general counsel roles, with over a decade practicing in the GCC.